Job the words (w/ 7/4 edit)

When I first read God's oracle of Job, I had no clue what I was reading.  I understood that Job had a huge disaster and that his friends visited him and that they yacked on and on and on and that God interrupted them and started talking to Job about the ornateness of creation and how Job wouldn't know the first thing about it if God hadn't explained what He already has to him.

But the narrative of the discussion Job had with his friends was confusing as heck.  Take chapter 8 as an example.  It's 20 verses long.  The first 7 are clear enough.  Is the last 13 verses meant to convey how vapid his friends were in their insistence?  Or is it meant as kind of a literary garnish?  Ug.  Now that I've heard my pastor talk about it both in public and private, I can discern what the meat of the dialogue is.  I just don't understand why there's so much filler.  :/

 

EDIT 7/4

I might've overstepped my boundary calling anything The Bible "filler".  If it were filler, it's not without utility, and maybe if I'd been reading a translation that put some consideration into how people talk nowadays instead of replicating the EXACT sentence, inasmuch as possible, that was in the original text from God, I'd have a better chance of understanding what was being spoken.  In Job ch22 or something one of his friends is talking about how God executes justice against the unGodly as if they had never met Job, like he's been leading some secret life as a serial killer or something....They make no accusation against him, except that he's impatient and self centered.  That is absolute lunacy.  The only thing I can gather is that those passages detail how NOT to talk to somebody when having an argument.  They were trying to console him initially, I guess, but under an assumption that was inaccurate.  It also seemed to be based on mythical understandings of God because, as Job observes, and later on Asaph writes about in one of the Psalms, God does not cause the wicked to take note of Him and turn from their wickedness.  He often lets the wicked live long and profitable lives before they die peacefully (and wake up in Hell).  Was Job exaggerating?  I know that's how it is now.  As far as I can tell from anyone I've heard talk, it's been like that since well before I was born a mere 38 years ago.  It may have not always been that way, at least not as much.  I guess that's more of an after thought.  They gave God honor and praise for His justice, but unfortunately Job became the butt of that.

Uh..anyway...maybe someday, when I'm like 74, Lord willing, I'll be able to sit and figure out why all those words are there.................rm.....