In this verse Yahweh accuses his people of sinning instead of providing sacrifices that pleased him.

You have not bought me sweet cane with money: The Hebrew word rendered sweet cane is the same one translated “reeds” in 19.6 (see the comments there). Since it is a sacrifice in this context, New Revised Standard Version, King James Version, and New American Bible say “sweet reed,” as in Revised Standard Version. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh is similar with “fragrant reed,” and so is New Jerusalem Bible with “expensive reed.” Revised English Bible has “aromatic cane.” Since the precise identification of this offering is not known, Good News Translation uses the generic term “incense,” which fits this context well. In this line Yahweh seems to be saying that his people did not buy incense as an offering for him. This is irony again since they purchased incense for him, but they offered it with a sinful attitude.

Or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices: The Hebrew verb rendered satisfied points to someone or something that is totally full. Translators may use a verb that refers to being satisfied after eating a large meal. The fat was the best part of an animal offering and had to be burned completely as a gift to Yahweh (see the comments on 1.11 and 34.6). In languages where fat is not something attractive, translators may render the fat of your sacrifices as say “the best part of your sacrifices.”

As in the first two lines of the previous verse, there is a chiasmus in the first two lines of this verse also, which is evident in the following literal rendering: You have not brought me > sweet cane with money > < or [with] the fat of your sacrifices < you have not satisfied me. But you have burdened me with your sins: Even though Yahweh did not make the demands of worship burdensome for his people, they burdened him with their sinfulness. This burden of sin implies that there are many sins requiring God’s forgiveness.

You have wearied me with your iniquities is parallel to the previous line. God became utterly exhausted because of the numerous sins of his people. Good News Translation preserves the parallelism here with “you wore me out with the wrongs you have committed.” For the parallel words sins and iniquities, see the comments on 1.4. This word pair also occurs in 5.18 and 40.2.

Since there is a play on the verbs “to be weary” and “to burden” between this verse and the previous two verses, translators should use consistent expressions if possible.

For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:

• You never used your money to buy incense to offer me,
nor did you burn the fat of animals to satisfy me.
But you laid the heavy burden of your sins on me,
and made me tired with your iniquities.

• You never bought incense to bring as an offering to me,
nor did you burn the fat of animals for my satisfaction.
Instead, you placed the burden of your sins on me,
making me weary with all your iniquities.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .