כִּ֤י ׀ לֹא־תַחְפֹּ֣ץ זֶ֣בַח וְאֶתֵּ֑נָה ע֝וֹלָ֗ה לֹ֣א תִרְצֶֽה׃
Sapagkat hindi mo ninanais ang handog, kung hindi ay ibibigay ko ito; hindi ka nalulugod sa handog na susunugin.
Rabbeinu Yonah
"on the service": As the Holy One, blessed be He, chose Israel from all of the nations and the Land of Israel from all of the lands, and He chose Jerusalem from all of the Land of Israel and He chose Zion from Jerusalem, as it is stated (Psalms 132:13), "As the Lord chose Zion, He desired it for His habitation." And He chose the House of Choice from everything for the sake of the service, about which it is written, "desire" - as it states (Leviticus 1:3), "desirous in front of God." Behold that because of the service the whole world was created. Then, due to our sins, the Temple was destroyed and the service was annulled. And prayer is now for us in its place, as the sages, may their memory be blessed, said (Taanit 2a), "'And to serve him with all your hearts' (Deuteronomy 11:13) - what service is there in the heart, one should say this is prayer." And this is what it states (Psalms 51:17), "Lord, open my lips," as King David said this verse about the sin of Batsheva which was volitional, and one cannot bring a sacrifice for volitional sins. And about this he stated (Psalms 51:18), "Since You do not want me to bring sacrifices; You do not desire burnt offerings." Had I been able to bring a sacrifice to atone for myself, I would have brought [it]. Now that I cannot, 'Lord, open my lips and let my mouth say your praise,' and accept my prayer in place of a sacrifice and let it atone me for my sin. Also for us that do not have a sacrifice to atone for us - not accidental sins and not volitional sins - 'Lord, open my lips' and accept our prayers in place of the sacrifices.
Kli Yakar
“It is the burnt offering.” There are those who say this means that the study of Torah, which is called tushiyah because it weakens [mateshet] a person’s strength, is considered as if one has offered oneself as a burnt offering. And do not say that Torah study is merely metaphorically similar to offering a burnt offering, for in truth there is neither a fireplace nor an altar here. [That is why] scripture teaches us: on its firewood upon the altar — because the fire of Torah within a person is similar to the fire of the altar.
The verse informs us that the time for the burnt offering is all night until morning, and furthermore, the phrase until morning is superfluous. This teaches wisdom to the people by way allusion: just as the time for the burnt offering is all night until morning, so too the appropriate time for one who engages in the Torah of the burnt offering [which is comparable to actually offering a burnt offering] is during the exile, which is compared to night. For it is then that Israel needs to pay “the bulls of their lips.”
Until morning — but not including morning itself. For in the time when the morning of Israel dawns, then they will offer actual bulls on God’s altar. As it is written, O Lord, open my lips (Psalms 51:17). And when do I ask that You accept the utterance of my lips? For [Ki] You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it (Psalms 51:18). The word ki indicates a specific time, meaning there will be a time when You will not desire sacrifice, and regarding that time I ask that You accept the speech of my lips in place of sacrifice. For through engaging in the laws of sacrifices, a person will also come to a “broken spirit.” This is what is meant by The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise (Psalms 51:19).
And from the fact that it says You will not despise, we can deduce that the actual sacrifice itself is more favored by God than engagement in the Torah of the burnt offering. And what is meant by This is the law of the burnt offering; it is the burnt offering applies specifically all night — during exile when there is no sacrifice or meal offering. And that is why afterward it says, Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion… Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness… then bulls shall be offered upon Your altar (Psalms 51:20-21).
The verse informs us that the time for the burnt offering is all night until morning, and furthermore, the phrase until morning is superfluous. This teaches wisdom to the people by way allusion: just as the time for the burnt offering is all night until morning, so too the appropriate time for one who engages in the Torah of the burnt offering [which is comparable to actually offering a burnt offering] is during the exile, which is compared to night. For it is then that Israel needs to pay “the bulls of their lips.”
Until morning — but not including morning itself. For in the time when the morning of Israel dawns, then they will offer actual bulls on God’s altar. As it is written, O Lord, open my lips (Psalms 51:17). And when do I ask that You accept the utterance of my lips? For [Ki] You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it (Psalms 51:18). The word ki indicates a specific time, meaning there will be a time when You will not desire sacrifice, and regarding that time I ask that You accept the speech of my lips in place of sacrifice. For through engaging in the laws of sacrifices, a person will also come to a “broken spirit.” This is what is meant by The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise (Psalms 51:19).
And from the fact that it says You will not despise, we can deduce that the actual sacrifice itself is more favored by God than engagement in the Torah of the burnt offering. And what is meant by This is the law of the burnt offering; it is the burnt offering applies specifically all night — during exile when there is no sacrifice or meal offering. And that is why afterward it says, Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion… Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness… then bulls shall be offered upon Your altar (Psalms 51:20-21).