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Psalm 40:6
ESV In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.
NIV Sacrifice and offering you did not desire-- but my ears you have opened -- burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.
NASB You have not desired sacrifice and meal offering; You have opened my ears; You have not required burnt offering and sin offering.
CSB You do not delight in sacrifice and offering; you open my ears to listen. You do not ask for a whole burnt offering or a sin offering.
NLT You take no delight in sacrifices or offerings. Now that you have made me listen, I finally understand — you don’t require burnt offerings or sin offerings.
KJV Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.

What does Psalm 40:6 mean?

David ponders how he might show his gratitude for all the wondrous things God had done him (Psalm 40:1–5). Certainly, David knew that God accepted and even commanded certain physical sacrifices under the Old Testament law. However, David has enough wisdom to understand that God looks at the worshiper's heart and not simply at his sacrifices and offerings.

King Saul had learned the hard way what David knew: The Lord delights in obedience and not in the ritual of offering sacrifices while the heart is not in tune with His will. Samuel reprimanded Saul for disobeying the Lord by not slaying Agag and all that pertained to Agag and by offering sacrifices after disobeying the Lord. He told Saul: "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams" (1 Samuel 15:22). David testifies that the Lord had given him an open ear; that is, David listened to hear what the Lord commanded him.

The phrasing used here is apparently a Hebrew idiom—a figure of speech—which in many literal translations implies "digging ears." The meaning of the phrase is God forming the body such that a person has the privilege of hearing from God. The Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Old Testament, takes this approach, which is why Hebrews 10:5 speaks of God preparing a body. Whether in the poetic form of Hebrew or the literalized version of Greek, the point is the same: the Lord has "dug out," or "opened," or "created" the ears of David so he can hear from God.
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