their misconceptions about God’s justice. They are unmasked as Pharisaic moralists who cannot empathize with Job because of their entrenched belief in performance-based acceptance by God—they essentially deny any role for true compassion or grace. On the other hand, Job’s own growing obsession with vindication has inflamed his vengeful spirit toward his friends and his increasingly demanding and presumptuous disposition toward God. As a result he has “sinned with his lips” (cf. 1:22, 2:10c), disrupted