According to Taberî, the word 'mesûbe' (reward) in this verse means 'thawab/recompense'. The meaning of the verse is that if those who learned sorcery through angels had believed and obeyed Allah and His Messenger, and had feared and been cautious of Him, the reward they would receive from Allah would be better for them than sorcery and what they gained through it. Additionally, Taberî also conveys the view of some Basran grammarians regarding how the response to the conditional particle 'lew' is syntactically determined.

أما المثوبة ، فهو الثواب

Râzî states in this verse that the response of the conditional clause is elided; the implied meaning is 'if they had believed and been cautious, they would have been rewarded', but a nominal clause was preferred instead of a verbal clause because the nominal clause indicates that the reward is firm and established. Furthermore, he explains that the use of the indefinite form in the phrase 'lâ mesûbetun min indillâhi' (no reward from Allah) carries the meaning that even any reward from Allah would be better for them.

أن الجواب محذوف وتقديره ولو أنهم آمنوا واتقوا لأثيبوا إلا أنه تركت الجملة الفعلية إلى هذه الإسمية لما في الجملة الإسمية من الدلالة على ثبات المثوبة واستقرارها

According to Ibn Kesîr, this verse emphasizes what a terrible exchange it was for the Jews to choose sorcery instead of faith and following the Messenger; if they had possessed the knowledge of the admonitions given to them, their belief in Allah and His messengers and abstinence from forbidden things would have been better for them than what they chose and accepted for themselves. In this context, the exegete proceeds to discuss a legal issue regarding the ruling on the sorcerer: according to some scholars, the sorcerer is declared an unbeliever, and according to others, he is not declared an unbeliever but the punishment is striking his neck.

ولو أنهم آمنوا بالله ورسله واتقوا المحارم لكان مثوبة الله على ذلك خيرا لهم مما استخاروا لأنفسهم ورضوا به

According to Beydâvî, the verse informs that if the Jews had believed and abstained from sins, the reward they would receive from Allah would be better for them than what they sold themselves for. The response to the conditional particle 'lew' is elided, and a nominal clause is used instead of a verbal clause; this style was preferred to emphasize that the reward is fixed and certainly better. Furthermore, the non-mention of the thing being compared (the price for which they sold themselves) is to hold it above being compared to it; the indefinite form of the word 'mükâfat' (reward) carries the meaning 'even any reward is better'.

فحذف الفعل وركب الباقي جملة اسمية لتدل على ثبات المثوبة والجزم بخيريتها، وحذف المفضل عليه إجلالا للمفضل من أن ينسب إليه، وتنكير المثوبة لأن المعنى لشيء من الثواب خير