Job 35:7

If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? or what receiveth he of thine hand?

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

35:1-8 Elihu reproves Job for justifying himself more than God, and called his attention to the heavens. They are far above us, and God is far above them; how much then is he out of the reach, either of our sins or of our services! We have no reason to complain if we have not what we expect, but should be thankful that we have better than we deserve.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? - The same sentiment substantially as in the previous verses. It is, that God is supreme and independent. He does not desire such benefits from the services of his friends and is not so dependent on them; as to be induced to interpose in their favor, in any way beyond what is strictly proper. It is to be presumed, therefore, that he will deal with them according to what is right, and as it is right that they should experience proofs of his favor, it followed that there "would be" advantage in serving him, and in being delivered from sin; that it "would be" better to be holy than to lead a life of transgression. This reasoning seems to be somewhat abstract, but it is correct, and is as sound now as it was in the time of Elihu. There is no reason why God should not treat people according to their character. He is not so under obligations to his friends, and has not such cause to dread his foes; he does not derive so much benefit from the one, or receive such injury from the other, that he is under any inducement to swerve from strict justice; and it follows, therefore, that where there ought to be reward there will be, where there ought to be punishment there will be, and consequently that there is an advantage in being righteous.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

7. (Ps 16:2; Pr 9:12; Lu 17:10).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

He gaineth nothing by it, nor can indeed receive any good from thee, because all thy good comes from him. And therefore thou hast no reason to boast of nor to upbraid God with thy piety, which is much to thy advantage, but nothing to his.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

If thou be righteous, what givest thou him?.... All righteousness is of God that any creatures have. What the angels in heaven have, or Adam had in a state of innocence; or what believers in Christ have in and from him; his righteousness imputed to them is of God; the grace of righteousness, or holiness, imparted to them and implanted in them, is from him; and it is under the influence of his Spirit, and by his grace and strength, they do works of righteousness externally; and therefore can give nothing to him of their own, nor does he need any, being God all sufficient; even the goodness of his Son does not extend to him, but to the saints, Psalm 16:2; much less any goodness of theirs: their best works of righteousness are due to him, and not gifts; and though they may contribute to his manifestative glory, both in them that do them and in others that see them, they can add nothing to the essential glory of God;

or what receiveth he of thine hand? He can receive nothing but what he has given, or what he has a prior right to and is his due, and so cannot be laid under any obligation to man by what he does; nor can man merit anything at his hand, not even the least temporal mercy, and much less spiritual ones and everlasting life: and what notice God is pleased to take of the good works of men, in away of reward, is not of debt, but of grace, and entirely owing to his goodness; and does not arise from any intrinsic worth in them, or from any advantage to him by them.

Geneva Study Bible

If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? or what receiveth he of thine hand?

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 7. - If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? By parity of reasoning, as our sins do not injure God, so our righteousness cannot benefit him. As David says, "My goodness extendeth not to thee" (Psalm 16:2). Or what receiveth he of thine hand? All things being already God's, we can but give him of his own. We cannot really add to his possessions, or to his glory, or to his felicity. We cannot, as some have supposed they could ('Religions of the Ancient World,' pp. 143, 144), lay him under an obligation. Job 35:7

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

5 Look towards heaven and see,

And behold the ethereal heights: they are high above thee.

6 If thou sinnest, what dost thou effect with Him?

And if thy transgressions are many, what doest thou to Him?

7 If thou art righteous, what dost thou give Him,

Or what doth He take from thy hand?

8 To man like thee thy godlessness availeth,

And to thee, a son of man, thy righteousness.

Towards heaven he is to direct his gaze, to obtain from the height of heaven a notion of the exaltation of God who dwells above the heavens. The combination הבּיט וראה is like Psalm 80:15 and freq. שׁחקים (שׁחק, Arab. sḥq, to rub in pieces, make thin, therefore the opposite of עבים) are the thin transparent strata of the atmosphere above the hanging clouds. מן after גּבהּ denotes the height that is on the opposite side to the beholder. From the exaltation of God it is then further inferred that it is impossible to exercise any human influence upon Him, by which He might suffer. The pointing wavers here between תּפעל (the common fut. form) and תּפעל(as a contraction of תּפעל after the form אזעם, Numbers 23:8). Human wrong or right doing neither diminishes nor increases His blessedness; injury or advantage is only on the side of man, from whom it proceeds. Others, whom his conduct affect, are not included in Job 35:8 : righteous or ungodly doing, Elihu means to say, as such and with its consequences, belongs solely to the doer himself, the man "like thee" (לאישׁ with Munach, כּמוך with Munach), the son of man, i.e., man, capable of evil as of good, and who always, after deciding in favour of the latter or the former, determines his fortune or misfortune, in distinction from God, who ever remains unchangeably the same in His perfect righteousness. What Elihu here says we have already heard from Eliphaz, Job 22:2., and Job even expresses himself similarly in Job 7:20; but to Elihu's mind it all becomes for Job new and powerful motives to quiet submission, for what objection should Job raise in justification of his complaints concerning his affliction against such sentiments as these, that goodness bears its reward and evil its punishment in itself, and that God's reward of goodness is not a work of indebtedness, nor His punishment of evil a work of necessity? Before such truth he must really hold his peace.