Commentaries:
Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown
mercy--put for piety in general, of which mercy or charity is a branch.
not sacrifice--that is, "rather than sacrifice." So "not" is merely comparative (Exodus 16:8; Joel 2:13; John 6:27; 1 Timothy 2:14). As God Himself instituted sacrifices, it cannot mean that He desired them not absolutely, but that even in the Old Testament, He valued moral obedience as the only end for which positive ordinances, such as sacrifices, were instituted--as of more importance than a mere external ritual obedience (1 Samuel 15:22; Psalms 50:8-9; Psalms 51:16; Isaiah 1:11-12; Micah 6:6-8; Matthew 9:13; Matthew 12:7).
knowledge of God--experimental and practical, not merely theoretical (Hosea 6:3; Jeremiah 22:16; 1 John 2:3-4). "Mercy" refers to the second table of the law, our duty to our fellow man; "the knowledge of God" to the first table, our duty to God, including inward spiritual worship. The second table is put first, not as superior in dignity, for it is secondary, but in the order of our understanding.
Other commentary entries containing this verse:
Isaiah 1:11
Jeremiah 7:22
Hosea 6:1
Amos 5:24
Micah 6:8
Matthew 9:13
Matthew 12:7
John 6:28-31
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