'Empty' in the Bible

The earth was formless and void or a waste and emptiness, and darkness was upon the face of the deep [primeval ocean that covered the unformed earth]. The Spirit of God was moving (hovering, brooding) over the face of the waters.

Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water; and she went and filled the [empty] skin with water and gave the boy a drink.

then they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty; there was no water in it.

The seven thin and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years; and also the seven thin ears, dried up and scorched by the east wind, they are seven years of famine and hunger.

The priest shall order that they empty the house before he goes in to examine the mark, so that everything in the house will not have to be declared unclean; afterward he shall go in to see the house.

For it is not an empty or trivial matter for you; indeed it is your [very] life. By [honoring and obeying] this word you will live long in the land, which you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

He divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put trumpets and empty pitchers into the hands of all of them, with torches inside the pitchers.

I left full [with a husband and two sons], but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has afflicted me?”

They said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty [without a gift]; but be sure to return [it] to Him [together with] a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why His hand is not removed from you.”

You must not turn away, for then you would go after futile things which cannot profit or rescue, because they are futile.

Then Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon [festival], and you will be missed because your seat will be empty.

The king sat on his seat as on previous occasions, on his seat by the wall; then Jonathan stood up, and Abner [his commander] sat down by Saul’s side, but David’s place was empty.

But on the next day, the second day of the new moon, David’s place was empty [again]; and Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has the son of Jesse not come to the meal, either yesterday or today?”

“From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty,The bow of Jonathan did not turn back,And the sword of Saul did not return empty.

Then he said, “Go, borrow containers from all your neighbors, empty containers—and not just a few.

They rejected His statutes and His covenant which He made with their fathers, as well as His warnings that he gave them. And they followed vanity [that is, false gods, idols] and became vain (empty-headed). They followed the [pagan practices of the] nations which surrounded them, although the Lord had commanded that they were not to do as they did.

You say (but they are only empty words) ‘I have counsel and strength for the war.’ Now on whom do you rely, that you have rebelled against me?

“How then can you vainly comfort me with empty words,Since your answers remain untrue?”

“Surely God will not listen to an empty cry [which lacks trust],Nor will the Almighty regard it.

Why are the nations in an uproar [in turmoil against God],And why do the people devise a vain and hopeless plot?

And when one comes to see me, he speaks empty words,While his heart gathers malicious gossip [against me];When he goes away, he tells it [everywhere].

The Lord knows the thoughts of man,That they are a mere breath (vain, empty, futile).

Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean,But much revenue [because of good crops] comes by the strength of the ox.

If the clouds are full [of rain], they empty themselves on the earth; and if a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it lies.

Therefore, remove sorrow and anger from your heart and put away pain from your body, for childhood and the prime of life are fleeting.

Behold, the Lord lays waste to the earth, devastates it, twists and distorts its face and scatters its inhabitants.

Those who cause a person to be condemned with a [false] word,And lay a trap for him who upholds justice at the [city] gate,And defraud the one in the right with meaningless arguments.

“In fact, all of these [pagan prophets and priests] are false;Their works are worthless,Their cast images are [merely] wind and emptiness.

Then I said, “I have labored in vain,I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity (pride, uselessness);However My justice is with the Lord,And My reward is with My God.”

For the customs and decrees of the peoples are [mere] delusion [exercises in futility];It is only wood which one cuts from the forest [to make a god],The work of the hands of the craftsman with the axe or cutting tool.

“Their nobles have sent their servants for water;They have come to the cisterns and found no water.They have returned with empty vessels;They have been shamed and humiliated,And they cover their heads.

Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “when I will send to Moab those who will tip him over and who will empty his vessels and break his [earthenware] jars in pieces.

“And I will send foreigners to Babylon that they may winnow herAnd may devastate and empty her land;For in the day of destructionThey will be against her on every side.

“Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devoured me, he has crushed me,He has set me down like an empty vessel.Like a monster he has swallowed me up,He has filled his belly with my delicacies;He has spit me out and washed me away.

For there will no longer be any false and empty vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel.

Therefore, thus says the Lord God, “Because you have spoken empty and delusive words and have seen lies, therefore behold, I am against you,” says the Lord God.

“So My hand will be against the [counterfeit] prophets who see (make up) empty and delusive visions and who give lying prophecies. They will have no place in the [secret] council of My people, nor will they be recorded in the register of the house of Israel, nor will they enter into the land of Israel, that you may know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord God.

“Then set the empty pot (Jerusalem) back on the coalsSo that it may be hotAnd its bronze may glowAnd its filthiness may be meltedAnd its rust (scum) may be consumed.

therefore thus says the Lord God, “Most certainly in the fire of My jealousy (love for that which is Mine) I have spoken against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, who appropriated My land for themselves as a possession with wholehearted joy and with uttermost contempt, so that they might empty it out [and possess it] as prey.”

The seeds [of grain] shrivel under the clods,The storehouses are desolate and empty,The barns are in ruinsBecause the grain is dried up.

Will they continue to empty their netAnd [mercilessly] go on destroying nations without sparing?

“Oh, that there were even one among you [whose duty it is to minister to Me] who would shut the gates, so that you would not kindle fire on My altar uselessly [with an empty, worthless pretense]! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord of hosts, “nor will I accept an offering from your hand.

Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be raised to honor.

If those who are [followers] of the Law are [the true] heirs [of Abraham], then faith [leading to salvation] is of no effect and void, and the promise [of God] is nullified.

So it is with you, if you speak words [in an unknown tongue] that are not intelligible and clear, how will anyone understand what you are saying? You will be talking into the air [wasting your breath]!

and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain [useless, amounting to nothing], and your faith is also vain [imaginary, unfounded, devoid of value and benefit—not based on truth].

Still, I am sending the brothers [on to you], so that our pride in you may not be an empty boast in this case, and so that you may be prepared, just as I told them you would be;

Let no one deceive you with empty arguments [that encourage you to sin], for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience [those who habitually sin].

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit [through factional motives, or strife], but with [an attitude of] humility [being neither arrogant nor self-righteous], regard others as more important than yourselves.

O Timothy, guard and keep safe the deposit [of godly truth] entrusted to you, turn away from worldly and godless chatter [with its profane, empty words], and the contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge”—

But avoid all irreverent babble and godless chatter [with its profane, empty words], for it will lead to further ungodliness,

For there are many rebellious men who are empty talkers [just windbags] and deceivers; especially those of the circumcision [those Jews who insist that Gentile believers must be circumcised and keep the Law in order to be saved].

Then I heard a loud voice from the temple, saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath and indignation of God.”