'Emptiness' in the Bible

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.

Turn aside do the paths of their way, They ascend into emptiness, and are lost.

Truly I've been allotted months of emptiness; nights of trouble have been appointed for me.

Let him not trust in a worthless speech. He leads only himself astray, for emptiness will be his reward.

So how will you comfort me [with] emptiness, when fraud is left [in] your answers?"

“It is He who spreads out the north over emptinessAnd hangs the earth on nothing.

“Surely every man walks around like a shadow [in a charade];Surely they make an uproar for nothing;Each one builds up riches, not knowing who will receive them.

Men of low degree are only a breath (emptiness), and men of [high] rank are a lie (delusion).In the balances they go up [because they have no measurable weight or value];They are together lighter than a breath.

Therefore He consumed their days like a breath [in emptiness and futility]And their years in sudden terror.

Remember how fleeting my lifetime is;For what vanity, [for what emptiness, for what futility, for what wisp of smoke] You have created all the sons of men!

When pride comes [boiling up with an arrogant attitude of self-importance], then come dishonor and shame,But with the humble [the teachable who have been chiseled by trial and who have learned to walk humbly with God] there is wisdom and soundness of mind.

“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher.“Vanity of vanities! All [that is done without God’s guidance] is vanity [futile, meaningless—a wisp of smoke, a vapor that vanishes, merely chasing the wind].”

I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure and gratification; so enjoy yourself and have a good time.” But behold, this too was vanity (futility, meaninglessness).

Then I said to myself, “As it happens to the fool, so death will also happen to me. What use is it then for me to be extremely wise?” Then I said in my heart, “This too is vanity (meaningless).”

And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is vanity (futility, self-conceit).

For there is a man who has labored with wisdom and knowledge and skill, yet gives his legacy to one who has not labored for it. This too is vanity and a great evil.

For all his days his work is painful and sorrowful; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is vanity (worthless).

For the [earthly] fate of the sons of men and the fate of animals is the same. As one dies, so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath and there is no preeminence or advantage for man [in and of himself] over an animal, for all is vanity.

There was a certain man—without a dependent, having neither a child nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor. Indeed, his eyes were not satisfied with riches and he never asked, “For whom do I labor and deprive myself of pleasure?” This too is vanity (a wisp of smoke, self-conceit); yes, it is a painful effort and an unhappy task.

There is no end to all the people; to all who were before them. Yet those who come later will not be happy with him. Surely this also is vanity (emptiness) and chasing after the wind.

For in many dreams and in many words there is emptiness. Rather, fear God.

He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its gain. This too is vanity (emptiness).

a man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God has not given him the power or capacity to enjoy them [all those things which are gifts from God], but a stranger [in whom he has no interest succeeds him and] enjoys them. This is vanity and it is a [cause of] great distress.

What the eyes see [enjoying what is available] is better than [craving] what the soul desires. This too is futility and chasing after the wind.

For there are many other words that increase futility. What then is the advantage for a man?

For like the crackling of [burning] thorn bushes under a pot,So is the laughter of the fool;And this too is vanity (futility).

I have seen everything during my [fleeting] days of futility; there is a righteous man who perishes in [spite of] his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who lives a long life in [spite of] his wickedness.

So then, I have seen the wicked buried, those who used to go in and out of the holy place [but did not thereby escape their doom], and they are [praised in spite of their evil and] soon forgotten in the city where they did such things. This too is futility (vanity, emptiness).

There is a meaningless and futile thing which is done on the earth: that is, there are righteous men whose gain is as though they were evil, and evil men whose gain is as though they were righteous. I say that this too is futility (meaningless, vain).

Yes, if a man should live many years, let him rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. All that is to come will be futility.

“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher. “All [that is done without God’s guidance] is vanity (futility).”

“Do not bring worthless offerings again,[Your] incense is repulsive to Me;[Your] New Moon and Sabbath [observances], the calling of assemblies—I cannot endure wickedness [your sin, your injustice, your wrongdoing] and [the squalor of] the festive assembly.

Those who pull evil along using cords of emptiness are as good as dead, who pull sin as with cart ropes.

and the Lord drives the people far away,leaving great emptiness in the land.

It was broken down -- a city of emptiness, Shut hath been every house from entrance.

Causing men to sin in word, And for a reprover in the gate lay a snare, And turn aside into emptiness the righteous.

For {Egyptians} help [with] vanity and emptiness, therefore I have called this one "Rahab, they [are] sitting."

But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness.

All the nations are as nothing before Him;they are considered by Himas nothingness and emptiness.

He who is making princes become nothing, Judges of earth as emptiness hath made;

Look, all of them are a delusion;their works are nonexistent;their images are wind and emptiness.

Framers of a graven image are all of them emptiness, And their desirable things do not profit, And their own witnesses they are, They see not, nor know, that they may be ashamed.

For thus says Yahweh, {who created} the heavens, he [is] God, {who formed} the earth and {who made} it. He himself established it; he did not create it [as] emptiness-- he formed it for inhabiting. "I [am] Yahweh and there is none besides [me].

"I said: "I've labored for nothing. I've exhausted my strength on futility and on emptiness.' Yet surely my recompense is with the LORD, and my reward is with my God.

There is none calling in righteousness, And there is none pleading in faithfulness, Trusting on emptiness, and speaking falsehood, Conceiving perverseness, and bearing iniquity.

Thus says the Lord,“What injustice did your fathers find in Me,That they went far from MeAnd walked after emptiness and became empty?

I looked at the earth, and behold, it was wasteland and emptiness, and to the heavens, and [they were] without their light.

But they are altogether irrational and stupid and foolishIn their discipline of delusion—their idol is [only] wood [it is ridiculous, empty and worthless]!

[Then said Jeremiah] “O Lord, my Strength and my Stronghold,And my Refuge in the day of distress and need,The nations will come to YouFrom the ends of the earth and say,‘Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies and illusion,[Worthless] things in which there is no benefit!’

Thus says the Lord of hosts,“Do not listen to the words of the [false] prophets who prophesy to you.They are teaching you worthless things and are leading you into futility;They speak a vision of their own mind and imaginationAnd not [truth] from the mouth of the Lord.

They are worthless (empty, false, futile), a work of delusion and worthy of derision;In the time of their inspection and punishment they will perish.

“But do not resort to Bethel [to worship the golden calf]Nor enter [idolatrous] Gilgal,Nor cross over to Beersheba [and its idols];For Gilgal will certainly go into captivity and exile,And Bethel will come to nothing.

Thou shalt eat, and not be satisfied, and thine emptiness shall remain in the midst of thee; and thou shalt take away, and not save; and what thou savest will I give up to the sword.

She is empty, yea, emptiness and waste, And the heart hath melted, And the knees have smitten together, And great pain is in all loins, And the faces of all of them have gathered paleness.

“Is it not indeed from the Lord of hostsThat peoples labor [only] for the fire [that will destroy their work],And nations grow weary for nothing [that is, things which have no lasting value]?

For the household gods have spoken wickedness, the soothsayers have seen a lie, and as for the dreamers, they have disclosed emptiness and give comfort in vain. Therefore the people set out like sheep and become scattered because they have no shepherd.