Psalm 51:16
New International Version
You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

New Living Translation
You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering.

English Standard Version
For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.

Berean Standard Bible
For You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; You take no pleasure in burnt offerings.

King James Bible
For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.

New King James Version
For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering.

New American Standard Bible
For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You do not take pleasure in burnt offering.

NASB 1995
For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering.

NASB 1977
For Thou dost not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; Thou art not pleased with burnt offering.

Legacy Standard Bible
For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering.

Amplified Bible
For You do not delight in sacrifice, or else I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering.

Christian Standard Bible
You do not want a sacrifice, or I would give it; you are not pleased with a burnt offering.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
You do not want a sacrifice, or I would give it; You are not pleased with a burnt offering.

American Standard Version
For thou delightest not in sacrifice; else would I give it: Thou hast no pleasure in burnt-offering.

Contemporary English Version
Offerings and sacrifices are not what you want.

English Revised Version
For thou delightest not in sacrifice; else would I give it: thou hast no pleasure in burnt offering.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
You are not happy with any sacrifice. Otherwise, I would offer one [to you]. You are not pleased with burnt offerings.

Good News Translation
You do not want sacrifices, or I would offer them; you are not pleased with burnt offerings.

International Standard Version
Indeed, you do not delight in sacrifices, or I would give them, nor do you desire burnt offerings.

Majority Standard Bible
For You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; You take no pleasure in burnt offerings.

NET Bible
Certainly you do not want a sacrifice, or else I would offer it; you do not desire a burnt sacrifice.

New Heart English Bible
For you do not delight in sacrifice, or else I would give it. You have no pleasure in burnt offering.

Webster's Bible Translation
For thou desirest not sacrifice: else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt-offering.

World English Bible
For you don’t delight in sacrifice, or else I would give it. You have no pleasure in burnt offering.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
For You do not desire sacrifice, or I give [it], "" You do not accept burnt-offering.

Young's Literal Translation
For Thou desirest not sacrifice, or I give it, Burnt-offering Thou acceptest not.

Smith's Literal Translation
For thou wilt not delight in sacrifice, and thou wilt not take pleasure in burnt-offering.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
For if thou hadst desired sacrifice, I would indeed have given it: with burnt offerings thou wilt not be delighted.

Catholic Public Domain Version
For if you had desired sacrifice, I would certainly have given it, but with holocausts, you will not be delighted.

New American Bible
For you do not desire sacrifice or I would give it; a burnt offering you would not accept.

New Revised Standard Version
For you have no delight in sacrifice; if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
For thou desirest not sacrifice; thou &lightest not in burnt offerings.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Because you have not desired sacrifices, neither have you chosen burnt offerings.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
For Thou delightest not in sacrifice, else would I give it; Thou hast no pleasure in burnt-offering.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
For if thou desiredst sacrifice, I would have given it: thou wilt not take pleasure in whole-burnt-offerings.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God
15O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise. 16For You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; You take no pleasure in burnt offerings. 17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.…

Cross References
Isaiah 1:11
“What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am full from the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I take no delight in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.

Hosea 6:6
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Micah 6:6-8
With what shall I come before the LORD when I bow before the God on high? Should I come to Him with burnt offerings, with year-old calves? / Would the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? / He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

1 Samuel 15:22
But Samuel declared: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams.

Amos 5:21-24
“I hate, I despise your feasts! I cannot stand the stench of your solemn assemblies. / Even though you offer Me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; for your peace offerings of fattened cattle I will have no regard. / Take away from Me the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. ...

Jeremiah 7:21-23
This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves! / For when I brought your fathers out of the land of Egypt, I did not merely command them about burnt offerings and sacrifices, / but this is what I commanded them: Obey Me, and I will be your God, and you will be My people. You must walk in all the ways I have commanded you, so that it may go well with you.

Proverbs 21:3
To do righteousness and justice is more desirable to the LORD than sacrifice.

Matthew 9:13
But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Mark 12:33
and to love Him with all your heart and with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. This is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

Hebrews 10:5-8
Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You prepared for Me. / In burnt offerings and sin offerings You took no delight. / Then I said, ‘Here I am, it is written about Me in the scroll: I have come to do Your will, O God.’” ...

Matthew 12:7
If only you had known the meaning of ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.

Psalm 40:6-8
Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but my ears You have opened. Burnt offerings and sin offerings You did not require. / Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—it is written about me in the scroll: / I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart.”

Romans 12:1
Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

1 Corinthians 13:3
If I give all I possess to the poor and exult in the surrender of my body, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Isaiah 66:3
Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who slays a man; whoever sacrifices a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck; whoever presents a grain offering is like one who offers pig’s blood; whoever offers frankincense is like one who blesses an idol. Indeed, they have chosen their own ways and delighted in their abominations.


Treasury of Scripture

For you desire not sacrifice; else would I give it: you delight not in burnt offering.

desirest

Psalm 51:6
Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

Exodus 21:14
But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die.

Numbers 15:27,30,31
And if any soul sin through ignorance, then he shall bring a she goat of the first year for a sin offering…

else would I.

Psalm 40:6
Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.

Psalm 50:8
I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt offerings, to have been continually before me.

Proverbs 15:8
The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.

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Acceptest Burned Burnt Burnt-Offering Delight Delightest Desire Desirest Offering Offerings Otherwise Pleased Pleasure Sacrifice
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Acceptest Burned Burnt Burnt-Offering Delight Delightest Desire Desirest Offering Offerings Otherwise Pleased Pleasure Sacrifice
Psalm 51
1. David prays for remission of sins, whereof he makes a deep confession
6. He prays for sanctification
16. God delights not in sacrifice, but in sincerity
18. He prays for the church














For You do not delight in sacrifice
The Hebrew word for "delight" is "חָפֵץ" (chafets), which conveys a sense of taking pleasure or having a desire for something. In the context of ancient Israel, sacrifices were a central part of worship and atonement. However, this phrase emphasizes that God’s ultimate desire is not in the ritual itself but in the heart and obedience of the worshiper. Historically, sacrifices were meant to be an outward expression of an inward reality—a heart aligned with God’s will. This phrase challenges believers to examine their motives and to prioritize genuine repentance and relationship with God over mere ritualistic practices.

or I would bring it
The psalmist, traditionally understood to be David, acknowledges his willingness to offer sacrifices if that were what God truly desired. The Hebrew verb "אָבִיא" (avi) means "I would bring" or "I would offer." This reflects a readiness to comply with God’s requirements, yet it underscores the understanding that external offerings are insufficient without a contrite heart. This phrase invites believers to consider the nature of their offerings to God, emphasizing that God values the sincerity of the heart over the material value of the offering.

You take no pleasure in burnt offerings
The term "burnt offerings" refers to "עוֹלָה" (olah), a type of sacrifice that was completely consumed by fire on the altar, symbolizing total devotion to God. The phrase "take no pleasure" uses the Hebrew "רָצָה" (ratsah), meaning to be pleased or satisfied. This highlights a profound theological truth: God’s pleasure is not in the act of sacrifice itself but in the heart of the one offering it. Historically, burnt offerings were a significant part of Israelite worship, yet this verse reveals that God’s ultimate concern is the spiritual state of His people. It serves as a reminder that God desires a broken and contrite heart, as further elaborated in the subsequent verses of the psalm. This understanding calls believers to pursue a deeper, more authentic relationship with God, characterized by true repentance and humility.

(16) Sacrifice.--The rabbinical commentators on this verse represent the penitence of David as having taken the place of the sin-offering prescribed by the Law. In the mouth of an individual, language with such an intention would not have been possible. To the nation exiled and deprived of the legal rites, and by that very deprivation compelled to look beyond their outward form to their inner spirit, the words are most appropriate.

Verse 16. - For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it. If there had been any sacrifices which God desired or required for such offences as adultery and murder, David would have willingly offered them. But there were none. As Hammond observes, "The Mosaical Law allows no reconciliation, no sacrifice, for such sins." Thou delightest not in burnt offering. In the mere act of sacrifice - the untimely slaying of his own creatures - God could at no time have had any pleasure. His satisfaction could only arise from the spirit in which sacrifices were offered - the gratitude, devotion, self-renunciation, obedience, of those who approached him with them (comp. Psalm 40:6; Psalm 50:8-13; Isaiah 1:11-17, etc.).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
For
כִּ֤י ׀ (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

You do not
לֹא־ (lō-)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

delight
תַחְפֹּ֣ץ (ṯaḥ·pōṣ)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 2654: To incline to, to bend, to be pleased with, desire

in sacrifice,
זֶ֣בַח (ze·ḇaḥ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2077: A slaughter, the flesh of an animal, a sacrifice

or I would bring it;
וְאֶתֵּ֑נָה (wə·’et·tê·nāh)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect Cohortative - first person common singular
Strong's 5414: To give, put, set

You take no pleasure
תִרְצֶֽה׃ (ṯir·ṣeh)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 7521: To be pleased with, to satisfy a, debt

in burnt offerings.
ע֝וֹלָ֗ה (‘ō·w·lāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 5930: Whole burnt offering


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OT Poetry: Psalm 51:16 For you don't delight in sacrifice (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 51:15
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