Bible Verses About Vanity

“Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.”

“Yet when I considered all the works that my hands had accomplished and what I had toiled to achieve, I found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind; there was nothing to be gained under the sun.”

“Turn my eyes away from worthless things; revive me with Your word.”

“But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or height, for I have rejected him; the LORD does not see as man does. For man sees the outward appearance, but the LORD sees the heart.”

“I saw that all labor and success spring from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.”

“Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.”

“To the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner He assigns the task of gathering and accumulating that which he will hand over to one who pleases God. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.”

“For physical exercise is of limited value, but godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for the present life and for the one to come.”

“For the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but because of the One who subjected it, in hope”

“I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.”

“So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind.”

“And you, O devastated one, what will you do, though you dress yourself in scarlet, though you adorn yourself with gold jewelry, though you enlarge your eyes with paint? You adorn yourself in vain; your lovers despise you; they want to take your life.”

“Lowborn men are but a vapor; the exalted are but a lie. Weighed on the scale, they go up; together they are but a vapor.”

“I loathe my life! I would not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath.”

“When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and he must give his portion to a man who has not worked for it, this too is futile and a great evil.”

“These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem: “Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!” What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises. The wind blows southward, then turns northward; round and round it swirls, ever returning on its course. All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place from which the streams come, there again they flow. All things are wearisome, more than one can describe; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear content with hearing. What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us. There is no remembrance of those who came before, and those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow after. I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a miserable task God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them! I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind. What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted. I said to myself, “Behold, I have grown and increased in wisdom beyond all those before me who were over Jerusalem, and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.” So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind. For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and as knowledge grows, grief increases.”

“Surely every man goes about like a phantom; surely he bustles in vain; he heaps up riches not knowing who will haul them away.”

“There is no limit to all the people who were before them. Yet the successor will not be celebrated by those who come even later. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.”

“So I said to myself, “The fate of the fool will also befall me. What then have I gained by being wise?” And I said to myself that this too is futile.”

“There is a man all alone, without even a son or brother. And though there is no end to his labor, his eyes are still not content with his wealth: “For whom do I toil and bereave my soul of enjoyment?” This too is futile — a miserable task.”

“Let him not deceive himself with trust in emptiness, for emptiness will be his reward.”

“You discipline and correct a man for his iniquity, consuming like a moth what he holds dear; surely each man is but a vapor. Selah”

“Better what the eye can see than the wandering of desire. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.”

“The LORD knows the thoughts of man, that they are futile.”

“For who knows what is good for a man during the few days in which he passes through his fleeting life like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will come after him under the sun?”

“This is what the LORD says: “What fault did your fathers find in Me that they strayed so far from Me? They followed worthless idols, and became worthless themselves.”

“For the fates of both men and beasts are the same: As one dies, so dies the other — they all have the same breath. Man has no advantage over the animals, since everything is futile.”

“They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.”

“In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for bread to eat — for He gives sleep to His beloved.”

“Dishonest wealth will dwindle, but what is earned through hard work will be multiplied.”

“O LORD, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in the day of distress, the nations will come to You from the ends of the earth, and they will say, “Our fathers inherited nothing but lies, worthless idols of no benefit at all.”

“He who sows injustice will reap disaster, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.”

“They rejected His statutes and the covenant He had made with their fathers, as well as the decrees He had given them. They pursued worthless idols and became worthless themselves, going after the surrounding nations that the LORD had commanded them not to imitate.”

“His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and violence; trouble and malice are under his tongue.”

“You, indeed, have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing before You. Truly each man at his best exists as but a breath. Selah Surely every man goes about like a phantom; surely he bustles in vain; he heaps up riches not knowing who will haul them away.”

“How long, O men, will my honor be maligned? How long will you love vanity and seek after lies? Selah”

“Making a fortune by a lying tongue is a vanishing mist, a deadly pursuit.”

“Indeed, all his days are filled with grief, and his task is sorrowful; even at night, his mind does not rest. This too is futile.”

“So I am allotted months of futility, and nights of misery are appointed to me.”

“When you cry out, let your companies of idols deliver you! Yet the wind will carry off all of them, a breath will take them away. But he who seeks refuge in Me will inherit the land and possess My holy mountain.”

“My visitor speaks falsehood; he gathers slander in his heart; he goes out and spreads it abroad.”

“Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the bread that is my portion.”

“He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear deceitfully.”

“So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind.”

“For like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This too is futile.”

“Yet My people have forgotten Me. They burn incense to worthless idols that make them stumble in their ways, leaving the ancient roads to walk on rutted bypaths instead of on the highway.”

“You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”

“Haughty eyes and a proud heart— the guides of the wicked— are sin.”

“But a witless man can no more become wise than the colt of a wild donkey can be born a man!”

“I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good!” But it proved to be futile. I said of laughter, “It is folly,” and of pleasure, “What does it accomplish?” I sought to cheer my body with wine and to embrace folly— my mind still guiding me with wisdom— until I could see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives. I expanded my pursuits. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. I made gardens and parks for myself, where I planted all kinds of fruit trees. I built reservoirs to water my groves of flourishing trees. I acquired menservants and maidservants, and servants were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me, and I accumulated for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I gathered to myself male and female singers, and the delights of the sons of men — many concubines. So I became great and surpassed all in Jerusalem who had preceded me; and my wisdom remained with me. Anything my eyes desired, I did not deny myself. I refused my heart no pleasure. For my heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. Yet when I considered all the works that my hands had accomplished and what I had toiled to achieve, I found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind; there was nothing to be gained under the sun. Then I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly; for what more can the king’s successor do than what has already been accomplished? And I saw that wisdom exceeds folly, just as light exceeds darkness: The wise man has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also came to realize that one fate overcomes them both. So I said to myself, “The fate of the fool will also befall me. What then have I gained by being wise?” And I said to myself that this too is futile. For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, just as with the fool, seeing that both will be forgotten in the days to come. Alas, the wise man will die just like the fool! So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind. I hated all for which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who comes after me. And who knows whether that man will be wise or foolish? Yet he will take over all the labor at which I have worked skillfully under the sun. This too is futile. So my heart began to despair over all the labor that I had done under the sun. When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and he must give his portion to a man who has not worked for it, this too is futile and a great evil. For what does a man get for all the toil and striving with which he labors under the sun? Indeed, all his days are filled with grief, and his task is sorrowful; even at night, his mind does not rest. This too is futile. Nothing is better for a man than to eat and drink and enjoy his work. I have also seen that this is from the hand of God. For apart from Him, who can eat and who can find enjoyment? To the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner He assigns the task of gathering and accumulating that which he will hand over to one who pleases God. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.”