16:2 Empty Clichés, Inadequate Explanations Though some of the words spoken by Job’s friends contained “germs” of truth, in this context they amounted to pious platitudes and “empty clichés” (21:34) that Job had heard many times before. What he most needed from his friends—their mercy (19:21) and compassion—they withheld, choosing instead to add to his pain with their inadequate explanations of his suffering.