35 Bible Verses about Vanity

For my people have put me out of their memory, burning perfumes to that which is nothing; and because of this, I will put a cause of falling in their ways, even in the old roads, and will make them go on side-roads, in a way not lifted up;

O Timothy, take good care of that which is given to you, turning away from the wrong and foolish talk and arguments of that knowledge which is falsely so named;

But take no part in wrong and foolish talk, for those who do so will go farther into evil,

Put these things before them, giving them orders in the name of the Lord to keep themselves from fighting about words, which is of no profit, only causing error in their hearers.

From which some have been turned away, giving themselves to foolish talking;

I am full of hate for those who go after false gods; but my hope is in the Lord.

But they are together like beasts and foolish: the teaching of false gods is wood.

For my people have put me out of their memory, burning perfumes to that which is nothing; and because of this, I will put a cause of falling in their ways, even in the old roads, and will make them go on side-roads, in a way not lifted up;

And they went against his rules, and the agreement which he made with their fathers, and his laws which he gave them; they gave themselves up to things without sense or value, and became foolish like the nations round them, of whom the Lord had said, Do not as they do.

Those who make a pictured image are all of them as nothing, and the things of their desire will be of no profit to them: and their servants see not, and have no knowledge; so they will be put to shame. Whoever makes a god, makes nothing but a metal image in which there is no profit.

And the wrath of the Lord came on Israel because they had done evil against the Lord their God, who took them out of the land of Egypt from under the yoke of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and had become worshippers of other gods, Living by the rules of the nations whom the Lord had sent out from before the children of Israel. And the children of Israel did secretly against the Lord their God things which were not right, building high places for themselves in all their towns, from the tower of the watchmen to the walled town. read more.
They put up pillars of stone and wood on every high hill and under every green tree: Burning their offerings in all the high places, as those nations did whom the Lord sent away from before them; they did evil things, moving the Lord to wrath; And they made themselves servants of disgusting things, though the Lord had said, You are not to do this. And he gave witness to Israel and Judah, by every prophet and seer, saying, Come back from your evil ways, and do my orders and keep my rules, and be guided by the law which I gave to your fathers and sent to you by my servants the prophets. And they did not give ear, but became stiff-necked, like their fathers who had no faith in the Lord their God. And they went against his rules, and the agreement which he made with their fathers, and his laws which he gave them; they gave themselves up to things without sense or value, and became foolish like the nations round them, of whom the Lord had said, Do not as they do. And turning their backs on all the orders which the Lord had given them, they made for themselves images of metal, and the image of Asherah, worshipping all the stars of heaven and becoming servants to Baal. And they made their sons and their daughters go through the fire, and they made use of secret arts and unnatural powers, and gave themselves up to doing evil in the eyes of the Lord, till he was moved to wrath. So the Lord was very angry with Israel, and his face was turned away from them: only the tribe of Judah kept its place. (But even Judah did not keep the orders of the Lord their God, but were guided by the rules which Israel had made. So the Lord would have nothing to do with all the offspring of Israel, and sent trouble on them, and gave them up into the hands of their attackers, till he had sent them away from before his face.) For Israel was broken off from the family of David, and they made Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, king, who, driving them away from the laws of the Lord, made them do a great sin. And the children of Israel went on with all the sins which Jeroboam did; they did not keep themselves from them; Till the Lord put Israel away from before his face, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So Israel was taken away from their land to Assyria, to this day.

Let him not put his hope in what is false, falling into error: for he will get deceit as his reward.

So this is what the Lord has said: Make search among the nations and see who has had word of such things; the virgin of Israel has done a very shocking thing. Will the white snow go away from the top of Sirion? will the cold waters flowing from the mountains become dry? For my people have put me out of their memory, burning perfumes to that which is nothing; and because of this, I will put a cause of falling in their ways, even in the old roads, and will make them go on side-roads, in a way not lifted up; read more.
Making their land a thing of wonder, causing sounds of surprise for ever; everyone who goes by will be overcome with wonder, shaking his head. I will send them in flight, as from an east wind, before the attacker; I will let them see my back and not my face on the day of their downfall.

O Timothy, take good care of that which is given to you, turning away from the wrong and foolish talk and arguments of that knowledge which is falsely so named;

But have nothing to do with foolish questionings, and lists of generations, and fights and arguments about the law; for they are of no profit and foolish.

But take no part in wrong and foolish talk, for those who do so will go farther into evil,

Put these things before them, giving them orders in the name of the Lord to keep themselves from fighting about words, which is of no profit, only causing error in their hearers.

From which some have been turned away, giving themselves to foolish talking; Desiring to be teachers of the law, though they have no knowledge of what they say or of the statements which they make so certainly.

To the man with whom he is pleased, God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy; but to the sinner he gives the work of getting goods together and storing up wealth, to give to him in whom God has pleasure. This again is to no purpose and desire for wind.

It is one who is by himself, without a second, and without son or brother; but there is no end to all his work, and he has never enough of wealth. For whom, then, am I working and keeping myself from pleasure? This again is to no purpose, and a bitter work.

His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and false words: under his tongue are evil purposes and dark thoughts.

Everyone says false words to his neighbour: their tongues are smooth in their talk, and their hearts are full of deceit.

If one comes to see me, deceit is in his heart; he keeps a store of evil, which he makes public in every place.

Who has said, by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David your servant, Why are the nations so violently moved, and why are the thoughts of the people so foolish?

Because, having the knowledge of God, they did not give glory to God as God, and did not give praise, but their minds were full of foolish things, and their hearts, being without sense, were made dark.

Why are the nations so violently moved, and why are the thoughts of the people so foolish?

This I say, then, and give witness in the Lord, that you are to go no longer in the way of the Gentiles whose minds are turned to that which has no profit, Whose thoughts are dark, to whom the life of God is strange because they are without knowledge, and their hearts have been made hard; Who having no more power of feeling, have given themselves up to evil passions, to do all unclean things with overmuch desire.

For there is a revelation of the wrath of God from heaven against all the wrongdoing and evil thoughts of men who keep down what is true by wrongdoing; Because the knowledge of God may be seen in them, God having made it clear to them. For from the first making of the world, those things of God which the eye is unable to see, that is, his eternal power and existence, are fully made clear, he having given the knowledge of them through the things which he has made, so that men have no reason for wrongdoing: read more.
Because, having the knowledge of God, they did not give glory to God as God, and did not give praise, but their minds were full of foolish things, and their hearts, being without sense, were made dark. Seeming to be wise, they were in fact foolish, And by them the glory of the eternal God was changed and made into the image of man who is not eternal, and of birds and beasts and things which go on the earth.

Through God we will do great things, for through him our haters will be crushed under our feet.

Our eyes are still wasting away in looking for our false help: we have been watching for a nation unable to give salvation.

Though good grain was planted, they have got in thorns: they have given themselves pain without profit: they will be shamed on account of their produce, because of the burning wrath of the Lord.

By planting the seed of evil a man will get in the grain of sorrow, and the rod of his wrath will be broken.

Let my eyes be turned away from what is false; give me life in your ways.

Put far from me all false and foolish things: do not give me great wealth or let me be in need, but give me only enough food:

For the training of the body is of profit for a little, but religion is of profit in every way, giving hope for the life which now is, and for that which is to come.

Do not be turned away by different strange teachings, because it is good for your hearts to be made strong by grace, and not by meats, which were of no profit to those who took so much trouble over them.

Who is able to say what is good for man in life all the days of his foolish life which he goes through like a shade? who will say what is to be after him under the sun?

I have no desire for life, I would not be living for ever! Keep away from me, for my days are as a breath.

Truly, every man goes on his way like an image; he is troubled for no purpose: he makes a great store of wealth, and has no knowledge of who will get it.

This I say, then, and give witness in the Lord, that you are to go no longer in the way of the Gentiles whose minds are turned to that which has no profit,

Are you able to take God's measure, to make discovery of the limits of the Ruler of all? They are higher than heaven; what is there for you to do? deeper than the underworld, and outside your knowledge; Longer in measure than the earth, and wider than the sea. read more.
If he goes on his way, shutting a man up and putting him to death, who may make him go back from his purpose? For in his eyes men are as nothing; he sees evil and takes note of it. And so a hollow-minded man will get wisdom, when a young ass of the field gets teaching.

Do you not see, O foolish man, that faith without works is of no use? Was not the righteousness of Abraham our father judged by his works, when he made an offering of Isaac his son on the altar? You see that his faith was helping his works and was made complete by them;

Your false gods will not keep you safe in answer to your cry; but the wind will take them, they will be gone like a breath: but he who puts his hope in me will take the land, and will have my holy mountain as his heritage.

So their days were wasted like a breath, and their years in trouble.

Who has said, by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David your servant, Why are the nations so violently moved, and why are the thoughts of the people so foolish?

Because, having the knowledge of God, they did not give glory to God as God, and did not give praise, but their minds were full of foolish things, and their hearts, being without sense, were made dark.

Why are the nations so violently moved, and why are the thoughts of the people so foolish?

And in your prayer do not make use of the same words again and again, as the Gentiles do: for they have the idea that God will give attention to them because of the number of their words.

Give me no more false offerings; the smoke of burning flesh is disgusting to me, so are your new moons and Sabbaths and your holy meetings.

What is the Ruler of all, that we may give him worship? and what profit is it to us to make prayer to him?

You have said, It is no use worshipping God: what profit have we had from keeping his orders, and going in clothing of sorrow before the Lord of armies?

Truly men of low birth are nothing, and men of high position are not what they seem; if they are put in the scales together they are less than a breath.

By the weight of your wrath against man's sin, the glory of his form is wasted away; truly every man is but a breath. (Selah.)

And after saying all this to the people, Moses said to them, Let the words which I have said to you today go deep into your hearts, and give orders to your children to do every word of this law. And this is no small thing for you, but it is your life, and through this you may make your days long in the land which you are going over Jordan to take for your heritage.

And again, The Lord has knowledge of the reasonings of the wise, that they are nothing.

Because there is a man whose work has been done with wisdom, with knowledge, and with an expert hand; but one who has done nothing for it will have it for his heritage. This again is to no purpose and a great evil.

Then said I in my heart: As it comes to the foolish man, so will it come to me; so why have I been wise overmuch? Then I said in my heart: This again is to no purpose.

What is the Ruler of all, that we may give him worship? and what profit is it to us to make prayer to him?

You have said, It is no use worshipping God: what profit have we had from keeping his orders, and going in clothing of sorrow before the Lord of armies?

His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and false words: under his tongue are evil purposes and dark thoughts.

Everyone says false words to his neighbour: their tongues are smooth in their talk, and their hearts are full of deceit.

If one comes to see me, deceit is in his heart; he keeps a store of evil, which he makes public in every place.

Your false gods will not keep you safe in answer to your cry; but the wind will take them, they will be gone like a breath: but he who puts his hope in me will take the land, and will have my holy mountain as his heritage.

So their days were wasted like a breath, and their years in trouble.

Though good grain was planted, they have got in thorns: they have given themselves pain without profit: they will be shamed on account of their produce, because of the burning wrath of the Lord.

By planting the seed of evil a man will get in the grain of sorrow, and the rod of his wrath will be broken.

By the weight of your wrath against man's sin, the glory of his form is wasted away; truly every man is but a breath. (Selah.)

Fair looks are a deceit, and a beautiful form is of no value; but a woman who has the fear of the Lord is to be praised.

Let my eyes be turned away from what is false; give me life in your ways.

Put far from me all false and foolish things: do not give me great wealth or let me be in need, but give me only enough food:

And if I give all my goods to the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it is of no profit to me.

So put away trouble from your heart, and sorrow from your flesh; because the early years and the best years are to no purpose.

Truly, every man goes on his way like an image; he is troubled for no purpose: he makes a great store of wealth, and has no knowledge of who will get it.

This I say, then, and give witness in the Lord, that you are to go no longer in the way of the Gentiles whose minds are turned to that which has no profit,

I made a search with my heart to give pleasure to my flesh with wine, still guiding my heart with wisdom, and to go after foolish things, so that I might see what was good for the sons of men to do under the heavens all the days of their life.

And nothing which was desired by my eyes did I keep from them; I did not keep any joy from my heart, because my heart took pleasure in all my work, and this was my reward. Then I saw all the works which my hands had made, and everything I had been working to do; and I saw that all was to no purpose and desire for wind, and there was no profit under the sun.

I said in my heart, I will give you joy for a test; so take your pleasure--but it was to no purpose.

All is to no purpose, said the Preacher, all the ways of man are to no purpose.

A man to whom God gives money, wealth, and honour so that he has all his desires but God does not give him the power to have joy of it, and a strange man takes it. This is to no purpose and an evil disease.

O Lord, my strength and my strong tower, my safe place in the day of trouble, the nations will come to you from the ends of the earth, and say, The heritage of our fathers is nothing but deceit, even false things in which there is no profit.

I am of the opinion that there is no comparison between the pain of this present time and the glory which we will see in the future. For the strong desire of every living thing is waiting for the revelation of the sons of God. For every living thing was put under the power of change, not by its desire, but by him who made it so, in hope read more.
That all living things will be made free from the power of death and will have a part with the free children of God in glory.

Truly, every man goes on his way like an image; he is troubled for no purpose: he makes a great store of wealth, and has no knowledge of who will get it.

Wealth quickly got will become less; but he who gets a store by the work of his hands will have it increased.

By ploughing his land a man will have bread in full measure; but he who goes after good-for-nothing persons will be poor enough.

Wealth quickly got will become less; but he who gets a store by the work of his hands will have it increased.

He who does work on his land will not be short of bread; but he who goes after foolish men is without sense.

See, I am against the prophets of false dreams, says the Lord, who give them out and make my people go out of the way by their deceit and their uncontrolled words: but I did not send them or give them orders; and they will be of no profit to this people, says the Lord.

I am a hater of men of doubting mind; but I am a lover of your law.

By planting the seed of evil a man will get in the grain of sorrow, and the rod of his wrath will be broken.

Wealth which comes from sin is of no profit, but righteousness gives salvation from death.

For with high-sounding false words, making use of the attraction of unclean desires of the flesh, they get into their power those newly made free from those who are living in error;

These are the words of the Lord: What evil have your fathers seen in me that they have gone far from me, and, walking after what is false, have become false?

Then I saw all the works which my hands had made, and everything I had been working to do; and I saw that all was to no purpose and desire for wind, and there was no profit under the sun.

And I saw that the cause of all the work and of everything which is done well was man's envy of his neighbour. This again is to no purpose and a desire for wind.

Being conscious that you have been made free from that foolish way of life which was your heritage from your fathers, not through a payment of things like silver or gold which come to destruction,

For every living thing was put under the power of change, not by its desire, but by him who made it so, in hope

By the weight of your wrath against man's sin, the glory of his form is wasted away; truly every man is but a breath. (Selah.)

He gives thought to evil on his bed; he takes a way which is not good; he is not a hater of evil.

I have not taken my seat with foolish persons, and I do not go with false men.

I am a hater of men of doubting mind; but I am a lover of your law.

You have made my days no longer than a hand's measure; and my years are nothing in your eyes; truly, every man is but a breath. (Selah.)

If a man seems to have religion and has no control over his tongue but lets himself be tricked by what is false, this man's religion is of no value.

What use is it, my brothers, for a man to say that he has faith, if he does nothing? will such a faith give him salvation?

O Lord, my strength and my strong tower, my safe place in the day of trouble, the nations will come to you from the ends of the earth, and say, The heritage of our fathers is nothing but deceit, even false things in which there is no profit.

And so a hollow-minded man will get wisdom, when a young ass of the field gets teaching.

For in his eyes men are as nothing; he sees evil and takes note of it.

And so a hollow-minded man will get wisdom, when a young ass of the field gets teaching.

For in his eyes men are as nothing; he sees evil and takes note of it.

O you sons of men, how long will you go on turning my glory into shame? how long will you give your love to foolish things, going after what is false? (Selah.)

But God will not give ear to what is false, or the Ruler of all take note of it;

I will make clear what your righteousness is like and your works; you will have no profit in them.

I undertook great works, building myself houses and planting vine-gardens. I made myself gardens and fruit gardens, planting in them fruit-trees of all sorts. I made pools to give water for the woods with their young trees. read more.
I got men-servants and women-servants, and they gave birth to sons and daughters in my house. I had great wealth of herds and flocks, more than all who were in Jerusalem before me. I got together silver and gold and the wealth of kings and of countries. I got makers of song, male and female; and the delights of the sons of men--girls of all sorts to be my brides. And I became great; increasing more than all who had been before me in Jerusalem, and my wisdom was still with me. And nothing which was desired by my eyes did I keep from them; I did not keep any joy from my heart, because my heart took pleasure in all my work, and this was my reward. Then I saw all the works which my hands had made, and everything I had been working to do; and I saw that all was to no purpose and desire for wind, and there was no profit under the sun.

Let him not put his hope in what is false, falling into error: for he will get deceit as his reward.

For with high-sounding false words, making use of the attraction of unclean desires of the flesh, they get into their power those newly made free from those who are living in error;

And if I give all my goods to the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it is of no profit to me.

The Lord has knowledge of the thoughts of man, for they are only a breath.

By the weight of your wrath against man's sin, the glory of his form is wasted away; truly every man is but a breath. (Selah.)

These are the words of the Lord: What evil have your fathers seen in me that they have gone far from me, and, walking after what is false, have become false?

He gives thought to evil on his bed; he takes a way which is not good; he is not a hater of evil.

He who gets stores of wealth by a false tongue, is going after what is only breath, and searching for death.

Truly men of low birth are nothing, and men of high position are not what they seem; if they are put in the scales together they are less than a breath.

He who has a love for silver never has enough silver, or he who has love for wealth, enough profit. This again is to no purpose.

See, you put your faith in false words which are of no profit.

All this he let you see, so that you might be certain that the Lord is God and there is no other.

I have not taken my seat with foolish persons, and I do not go with false men.

O you sons of men, how long will you go on turning my glory into shame? how long will you give your love to foolish things, going after what is false? (Selah.)

I said in my heart, I will give you joy for a test; so take your pleasure--but it was to no purpose.