“If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? or what receiveth he of thine hand?”
Elihu continues: 'If you are righteous, what do you give to him? Or what does he receive from your hand?' establishing that human righteousness cannot benefit God or obligate him. This verse completes the two-sided argument: just as sin does not diminish God, righteousness does not enhance him or create an obligation. God receives nothing from human virtue, remaining completely transcendent and untouched by human moral action. Elihu uses this principle to suggest that Job's expectation of reward for righteousness is misplaced—God is not in a position to be obligated to reward human virtue because God receives no benefit from it. Yet the verse also implies something: if righteousness does not benefit God, on what basis can God demand righteousness from humans? If virtue is not reciprocal—if God does not benefit and is not in relational exchange with humans—then does morality itself become problematic? The verse demonstrates how an excessive emphasis on divine transcendence can paradoxically undermine the coherence of divine ethics and divine justice.
Church Fathers on Job 35:7
—7. Look unto the heaven, and see, and behold the sky, that it is higher than thou. If thou hast sinned, what wilt thou hurt Him? If thine iniquities have been multiplied, what wilt thou do against Him? If, moreover, thou hast acted justly, what wilt thou give Him, or what will He receive of thy hand? Although these words ought not to have been said to blessed Job, who knew greater truths, yet the things, which are said, are true, namely, that neither do our sins hurt God,…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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