God either to explain or abate his suffering in hopes of vindicating him in the eyes of his friends. But he finds neither compassion nor relief: He winds up disgusted by his friends’ intransigent refusal to genuinely consider his argument or comfort him in his pain and he despairs of ever being restored or of even surviving to see his vindication. Job’s growing frustration explains the increasingly rancorous tone of the second round of the debate (chaps. 15–21). Job’s friends are astonished at what