46 Bible Verses about emptiness

For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.

For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

I beheld the earth, and lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.

I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?

Surely God will not hear vanity, neither will the Almighty regard it.

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

We have heard of the pride of Moab; he is very proud: even of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath: but his lies shall not be so.

I say, sayest thou (but they are but vain words) I have counsel and strength for war: now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me?

Thou sayest, but they are but vain words, I have counsel and strength for the war. Now in whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me?

None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.

Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that had quite escaped from them who live in error.

Why do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently to me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.

A Song of degrees for Solomon. Except the LORD shall build the house, they labor in vain that build it: except the LORD shall keep the city, the watchman waketh in vain. It is vain for you to rise early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.

Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe yourselves, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.

That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?

He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.

And he said to them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

But they that will be rich, fall into temptation, and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some have coveted, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I deposit all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast abundance of goods laid up for many years; take thy ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said to him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?

So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite's hope shall perish: Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider's web. He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: he shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure.

Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity: for vanity shall be his recompense.

For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.

Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death.

For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

When thou criest, let thy companies deliver thee; but the wind shall carry them all away; vanity shall take them: but he that putteth his trust in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain;

Go and cry to the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.

And the residue of it he maketh a god, even his graven image: he falleth down to it, and worshipeth it, and prayeth to it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god. They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand.

Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that have escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray to a god that cannot save.

They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove: yes, one shall cry to him, yet he cannot answer, nor save him out of his trouble.

Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and cry to the gods to which they offer incense: but they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble.

And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach to you, that ye should turn from these vanities to the living God, who made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them.

Therefore also will I make thee sick in smiting thee, in making thee desolate because of thy sins. Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied; and thy casting down shall be in the midst of thee; and thou shalt take hold, but shalt not deliver; and that which thou deliverest will I give up to the sword.

But if ye will not hearken to me, and will not do all these commandments; And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul shall abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant: I also will do this to you, I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.

For all this they sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous works. Therefore their days did he consume in vanity, and their years in trouble.

For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall be guilty of lewdness, and shall not increase: because they have ceased to take heed to the LORD.

Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD. Ye looked for much, and lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of my house that is waste, and ye run every man to his own house.

Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain course of life received by tradition from your fathers;

I am the LORD thy God who brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.

And of his fullness have we all received, and grace for grace.

The thief cometh not, but to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:

And ye are complete in him, who is the head of all principality and power:

But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.