29 Bible Verses about Futility

who know not what will be on the morrow; for what is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes away;

For the sun rose hot, and withered the grass, and its flower fell off, and the beauty of its appearance perished; so also shall the rich man perish in his ways.

For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written; He takes the wise in their craftiness. And again; The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise that they are vain.

because having known God they glorified him not as God neither were thankful, but became vain in their reasonings and their ignorant mind was darkened.

This I say then and testify in the Lord, that you no longer walk as the other gentiles walk, in the vanity of their minds, with their understandings darkened, alienated from the life of God on account of the ignorance which is in them, on account of the hardness of their hearts,

He has made strong his arm; he has scattered the proud with the thought of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from thrones, and exalted the humble;

For before these days Theudas arose, saying that he was somebody, to whom a number of men, about four hundred, adhered, who was destroyed, and all who obeyed him passed away and came to nothing. After him arose Judas the Galilean, in the days of the census, and drew away people after him; and he was destroyed, and all who obeyed him were dispersed. And now I tell you, abstain from these men, and let them alone; because if this design, or this work, is from men, it will be destroyed;

If therefore you died with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why do you practice ordinances as living in the world,??21 you shall not touch, you shall not taste, you shall not feel,??22 all which are to perish in the using??ccording to the commandments and instructions of men? Which have an appearance of wisdom in voluntary worship and humiliation, and in a rigorous treatment of the body, [which is held] in no respect for the surfeiting of the flesh.

This people honors me with the lips, but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching teachings and commandments of men.

And he said to them, Well did Isaiah prophecy of you, hypocrites, as it is written; This people honors me with the lips, but their heart is far from me; but in vain do they worship me, teaching for teachings the commandments of men;

And I, brothers, was not able to speak to you as spiritual, but as carnal, as babes in Christ. I have fed you milk, not solid food; for you were not yet able; but you are not able even now; for you are yet carnal. For when there is envy and strife among you are you not carnal and walk as men?

But if any one among you thinks he is religious, and bridles not his tongue, but deceives his mind, that man's religion is vain.

But foolish questions, and genealogies, and strifes and contentions about the law, avoid; for they are unprofitable and vain.

Let no man deceive you with vain words; for on account of these comes the wrath of God on the children of disobedience.

Let no one wishing [it] deprive you of your reward by humility and a worship of angels, intruding into what he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his carnal mind,

which some having missed turned aside to vain words,

Call to mind these things, charging [men] before the Lord not to debate about words, to no profit, to the subversion of the hearers.

For speaking extravagant words of vanity, they entice with carnal desires of lewdness those scarcely escaped from them, those living in error,

I am the vine, you are the branches. He that continues in me and I in him, this man bears much fruit; for separated from me, you can do nothing.

And if any man builds on this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, grass, reeds, each one's work shall be manifest; for the day shall show it, because it shall be revealed by fire, and the same fire shall try every man's work what it is. If any one's work continues which he has built, he shall receive a reward;read more.
if any one's work is consumed, he shall suffer loss, and he shall be saved, but so as by fire.

For we have also received the good news as they did; but the word of the report did not profit them, not being accompanied with faith in those who heard.

And every one who hears these words of mine and performs them not, shall be likened to a foolish man, who built his house on the sand; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it fell; and its fall was great.

When any one hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and takes away the seed sown in his heart. This is he that received seed by the way. He that received seed on the rocky places is he that hears the word and immediately receives it with joy but has no root in himself, but is only a temporary [disciple]; and when affliction or persecution arises on account of the word, he is immediately offended.read more.
And he that received seed among thorns is he that hears the word, and the cares of this life and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if any one is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man perceiving his natural face in a glass; for he perceived himself, and went away, and immediately forgot what kind of a man he was.

But will you know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

and be not partakers of the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

knowing that you were not redeemed from your vain mode of life received by tradition from your fathers, with destructible things, silver or gold,

if therefore any one purifies himself from these [errors], he shall be a vessel for honor, sanctified, of good use to the master, prepared for every good work.