“If I have withheld from the poor what they desired,
Or have caused the eyes of the widow to look in vain [for relief],

If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence;

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

Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain; he multiplieth words without knowledge.

Knowest thou the time when the wild goats bring forth their young among the stony rocks? Or layest thou wait when the hinds use to fawn?

She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers: her labour is in vain without fear;

He lieth under the lotus-trees, In the covert of the reed, and the fen.

Behold, the hope of him is in vain: shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him?

Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?

Sons of men! till when is my glory for shame? Ye love a vain thing, ye seek a lie. Selah.

The lines are fallen to me in pleasant places. Yea, I have a fine heritage.

From men with Your hand, O Lord,
From men of the world [these moths of the night] whose portion [of enjoyment] is in this life—idle and vain,
And whose belly You fill with Your treasure;
They are satisfied with children,
And they leave what they have left [of wealth] to their children.

I grind them as fine windblown dust; I beat them underfoot like clay in the streets.

At the hearing of the ear they hearken to me, Sons of a stranger feign obedience to me,

More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

For thou meetest him with the blessings of goodness: Thou settest a crown of fine gold on his head.

I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers.

I hate those who pay regard to vain (empty, worthless) idols;
But I trust in the Lord [and rely on Him with unwavering confidence].

Jehovah made vain the counsel of the nations: he brought the purposes of the peoples to nought

An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.

What man is he that lusteth to live, and would fain see good days?

The words from his mouth are vain and deceptive. He has abandoned behaving wisely and doing good.

Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.

Kings' daughters go in thy goodly array, and upon thy righthand standeth the queen in a vesture of the most fine gold.

Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.

Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them.

Say to God, 'How fearful are Thy works, By the abundance of Thy strength, Thine enemies feign obedience to Thee.

For you, God, tested us, to purify us like fine silver.

My lips would fain sing praises unto thee; and so would my soul whom thou hast delivered.

Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency.

He destroyeth with hail their vine, And their sycamores with frost,

You make us quarrel with our neighbors;
our enemies make fun of us.

Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it.

Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine;

Those hating Jehovah feign obedience to Him, But their time is -- to the age.

Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast thou made all men in vain?

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

And He smiteth their vine and their fig, And shivereth the trees of their border.

And put seed in the fields and make vine-gardens, to give them fruit.

Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.

SAMECH. I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love.

You have turned Your back on all those who wander from Your statutes,
For their deceitfulness is useless.

Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold.

{A Song of degrees for Solomon.} Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.

Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.

until I find a place for the Lord, a fine dwelling place for the powerful ruler of Jacob."

It is like fine oil on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down Aaron’s beard
onto his robes.

For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain.

If they say, “Come with us;
Let us lie in wait to shed blood,
Let us ambush the innocent without cause;

Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.

For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.

A loving doe, a graceful fawn—
let her breasts always satisfy you;
be lost in her love forever.

But when he is found, he must repay seven times [what he stole];
He must give all the property of his house [if necessary to meet his fine].

I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt.

Receive my doctrine therefore, and not silver: and my knowledge, more than fine gold.

My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver.

In the death of an unjust man expectation shall perish: and the hope of the vain shall perish.

He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread: but he that followeth vain persons is void of understanding.

The sluggard would fain have, and cannot get his desire; but the soul of the diligent shall have plenty.

A vain man through pride causeth debate, And with the counselled is wisdom.

Wealth obtained by fraud dwindles,
But he who gathers gradually by [honest] labor will increase [his riches].

A scoffer seeks wisdom and finds none [for his ears are closed to wisdom],
But knowledge is easy for one who understands [because he is willing to learn].

Fools make fun of guilt, but among the upright there are good intentions.

In every labour there is some profit; but only vain words bringeth forth penury.

How much better is it to get wisdom than fine gold, and the getting of intelligence to be preferred to silver!

Excellent speech does not benefit a fool [who is spiritually blind],
Much less do lying lips benefit a prince.

Also, to fine the righteous is not good, To smite nobles for uprightness.

The stern in wrath lifted up a fine: for if thou shalt deliver and thou shalt yet add.

For the end is not yet come and thy patient abiding shall not be in vain.

Even so shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul, as soon as thou hast gotten it. And there is good hope; yea, thy hope shall not be in vain.

I went by the field of the hater of work, and by the vine-garden of the man without sense;

As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear.

Like as the bird, and the swallow take their flight and flee here and there; so the curse that is given in vain, shall not light upon a man.

He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough.

When the ungodly are come up, men are fain to hide themselves; but when they perish, the righteous increase.

Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.

After looking at a field with care, she gets it for a price, planting a vine-garden with the profit of her work.

She maketh for herself carpets of tapestry; Her clothing is fine linen and purple.

She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.

Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.

I undertook great works, building myself houses and planting vine-gardens.

Yea, I was weary of all my labour, which I had taken under the Sun, because I should be fain to leave them unto another man, that cometh after me.

For who knoweth, whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? And yet shall he be lord of all my labours, which I with such wisdom have taken under the Sun. Is not this a vain thing?

Forsomuch as a man should weary himself with wisdom, with understanding and opportunity, and yet be fain to leave his labours unto another, that never sweat for them. This is also a vain thing and a great misery.

but heaviness, sorrow and disquietness all the days of his life? Insomuch that his heart cannot rest in the night. Is not this also a vain thing?

He giveth unto man, what it pleaseth him; whether it be wisdom, understanding, or gladness. But unto the sinner he giveth weariness and sorrow, that he may gather and heap together the thing, that afterward shall be given unto him whom it pleaseth God. This is now a vain thing, yea a very disquietness and vexation of mind.

I have seen that every [effort in] labor and every skill in work comes from man’s rivalry with his neighbor. This too is vanity (futility, false pride) and chasing after the wind.

One hand full of rest and patience is better than two fists full of labor and chasing after the wind.

And I have turned, and I see a vain thing under the sun:

There is one man, no more but himself alone, having neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of his careful travail, his eyes cannot be satisfied with riches. Yet, doth he not remember himself, and say, "For whom do I take such travail? For whose pleasure do I thus consume away my life?" This is also a vain and miserable thing.

As for the people that have been before him, and that come after him, they are innumerable: yet is not their joy the greater through him. This is also a vain thing and a vexation of mind. (v17) When thou comest into the house of God, keep thy foot and draw nigh, that thou mayest hear: that is better than the offerings of fools, for they know not what evil they do

He that loveth money, will never be satisfied with money: and whoso delighteth in riches, shall have no profit thereof. Is not this also a vain thing?

When God giveth a man riches, goods and honour, so that he wanteth nothing of all that his heart can desire, and yet God giveth him not leave to enjoy the same, but another man spendeth them. This is a vain thing and a miserable plague.

For, in vain, it came in, and, in darkness, it departeth, - and, with darkness, its name, is covered:

The sight of the eyes is better, then that the soul should so depart away. Howbeit, this is also a vain thing and a disquietness of mind.

For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?

A good name is better than fine perfume,
and the day of one’s death than the day of one’s birth.

For the laughing of fools is like the crackling of thorns under a pot. And that is but a vain thing.

I have seen all these things in my vain life: Sometimes a righteous man perishes in [spite of] his righteousness, and sometimes a wicked man lives a long life in [spite of] his evil.