For thou saidst, What advantage will it be unto thee? and, What profit shall I have, if I be cleansed from my sin?
The verse records Job asking what benefit and profit he gains from being righteous and cleansed from sin. It expresses the notion that God gains an advantage from a person's purity, as though He requires people to give things up for His own benefit. It belongs to Elihu's effort to convince Job that Job himself is not great while God is everything.
In context Elihu rebukes Job for claiming to be righteous and implying God had afflicted him without cause, as though Job's righteousness exceeded God's justice. Elihu answers the notion by teaching that a person's sin or righteousness does not enrich or harm God, but affects other people. The questioning reflects Job's persistent self-justification, which arose in response to his friends' false accusations. Job makes no answer to Elihu's plea and no comment is given upon it, and afterward the Lord Himself answers Job.
The verse records Job asking what benefit and profit he gains from being righteous and cleansed from sin. It expresses the notion that God gains an advantage from a person's purity, as though He requires people to give things up for His own benefit. It belongs to Elihu's effort to convince Job that Job himself is not great while God is everything.
In context Elihu rebukes Job for claiming to be righteous and implying God had afflicted him without cause, as though Job's righteousness exceeded God's justice. Elihu answers the notion by teaching that a person's sin or righteousness does not enrich or harm God, but affects other people. The questioning reflects Job's persistent self-justification, which arose in response to his friends' false accusations. Job makes no answer to Elihu's plea and no comment is given upon it, and afterward the Lord Himself answers Job.