But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.

And if you knew what this meaneth: I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: you would never have condemned the innocent.

and if ye had known what is: Kindness I will, and not sacrifice, ye had not condemned the blameless,

And if you knew what this means, 'It is mercy I desire, not sacrifice', you would not have condemned those who are without guilt.

But if these words had been in your minds, My desire is for mercy and not for offerings, you would not have been judging those who have done no wrong.

But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the innocent.

And if you knew what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,' you would never have condemned the innocent.

Had you learned the meaning of the words – 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned those who are not guilty.

But if you knew This Third argument is also mentioned by Matthew alone. Christ conveys an indirect reproof to the Pharisees, for not considering why ceremonies were appointed, and to what object they are directed. This has been a common fault in almost every age; and therefore the prophet Hosea (6:6) exclaims against the men of his own age for being too much attached to ceremonies, and caring little about the duties of kindness. But God declares aloud, that he sets a higher value on mercy than on sacrifice, employing the word mercy, by a figure of speech, for offices of kindness, as sacrifices include the outward service of the Law. This statement Christ applies to his own time, and charges the Pharisees with wickedly torturing the Law of God out of its true meaning, with disregarding the second table, and being entirely occupied with ceremonies. But a question arises: Why does God declare that he is indifferent about ceremonies, when he strictly enjoined in his Law that they should be observed? The answer is easy. External rites are of no value in themselves, and are demanded by God in so far only as they are directed to their proper object. Besides, God does not absolutely reject them, but, by a comparison with deeds of kindness, pronounces that they are inferior to the latter in actual value. Nor is it inconsistent with this to say, that in the perfection of righteousness the highest rank belongs to the worship of God, and the duties which men owe to each other occupy the second rank. For, though piety is justly reckoned to be as much superior to charity as God is higher than men, yet as believers, by practicing justice towards each other, prove that their service of God is sincere, it is not without reason that this subject is brought under the notice of hypocrites, who imitate piety by outward signs, and yet pervert it by confining their laborious efforts to the carnal worship alone. From the testimony of the Prophet, Christ justly infers that no blame attaches to his disciples; for while God trained his people in the rudiments of the Law, it was far from being his design to kill wretched men with famine.

I will have mercy, etc. - See this explained, Matthew 9:13.
There are four ways in which positive laws may cease to oblige.
First, by the natural law of necessity.
Secondly, by a particular law, which is superior.
Thirdly, by the law of charity and mercy.
Fourthly, by the dispensation and authority of the Lawgiver.
These cases are all exemplified from Matthew 12:4-8.

But if ye had known what this meaneth, The passage of Scripture in Hosea 6:6
I will have mercy, and not sacrifice; of the sense of which, see Gill on Matthew 9:13.
ye would not have condemned the guiltless. Our Lord taxes the Pharisees both with ignorance of the Scriptures, in which they pretended to be very knowing, and took upon them to be the interpreters of; and with inhumanity, for condemning innocent persons, the apostles, for rubbing a few ears of corn, for the refreshment of nature; which they would never have done, had they understood the word, and will of God; who prefers acts of humanity, compassion, and mercy, to the observance of rites and ceremonies; or had they the common affections of human nature, and those bowels of compassion which one man ought to show to another.

But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice-- (Hosea 6:6; Micah 6:6-8, &c.). See on Matthew 9:13.
ye would not have condemned the guiltless--that is, Had ye understood the great principle of all religion, which the Scripture everywhere recognizes--that ceremonial observances must give way before moral duties, and particularly the necessities of nature--ye would have refrained from these captious complaints against men who in this matter are blameless. But our Lord added a specific application of this great principle to the law of the sabbath, preserved only in Mark: "And he said unto them, the sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath" (Mark 2:27). A glorious and far-reaching maxim, alike for the permanent establishment of the sabbath and the true freedom of its observance.

But if ye had known what this meaneth. They ought to have known, for they professed to be interpreters of the law.
I will have mercy, and not sacrifice. The argument is, that mercy toward these hungering disciples was more acceptable to God than sacrifices at the altar; though sacrifice was the crown of the Jewish rites. The quotation is from Hosea 6:6, and is also quoted in Matthew 9:13. It shows that all our forms, rites and ceremonies are worthless before God unless we have kind and merciful hearts.

I will have mercy and not sacrifice - That is, when they interfere with each other, I always prefer acts of mercy, before matters of positive institution: yea, before all ceremonial institutions whatever; because these being only means of religion, are suspended of course, if circumstances occur, wherein they clash with love, which is the end of it. Matthew 9:13.