Isaiah 43:23

The absence of sacrifice has not impaired the bond between Jehovah and His people. The thought presents a striking contrast to ch. Isaiah 1:10 ff., a passage which was probably in the writer's mind.

the small cattle The Heb. word serves as the noun of unity to the word for "flock" (i.e. sheep and goats). On burnt-offerings, sacrificesand offering, see on ch. Isaiah 1:11; Isaiah 1:13.

I have not caused thee to serve "have not treated thee as a slave," by exacting tribute. The statement might no doubt be understood absolutely, according to Jeremiah 7:21 ff.; but it is perhaps sufficient to take it of the Exile, when the non-essential character of sacrifice was revealed by its enforced discontinuance (cf. Psalms 51:16).

incense See ch. Isaiah 60:6; Jeremiah 6:20. In both these passages incense is described as coming from Arabia, which agrees with the statement of Pliny, that it was collected in the chief city of Hadramaut and thence conveyed to Syria. The Heb. word (lěbônâh), which is preserved in the Gr. λίβανος, λιβανωτός, is quite different from that found in ch. Isaiah 1:13.