77 Bible Verses about Futility

Remember, I pray Thee, what is life-time? Wherefore in vain hast Thou created All the sons of men?

My days swifter than a weaving machine, And they are consumed without hope. Remember Thou that my life is a breath, Mine eye turneth not back to see good.

Man, born of woman! Of few days, and full of trouble! As a flower he hath gone forth, and is cut off, And he fleeth as a shadow and standeth not.

Cause me to know, O Jehovah, mine end, And the measure of my days -- what it is,' I know how frail I am. Lo, handbreadths Thou hast made my days, And mine age is as nothing before Thee, Only, all vanity is every man set up. Selah.

A voice is saying, 'Call,' And he said, 'What do I call?' All flesh is grass, and all its goodliness is As a flower of the field: Withered hath grass, faded the flower, For the Spirit of Jehovah blew upon it, Surely the people is grass;

who do not know the thing of the morrow; for what is your life? for it is a vapour that is appearing for a little, and then is vanishing;

It is the same thing, therefore I said, 'The perfect and the wicked He is consuming.'

Mortal man! as grass are his days, As a flower of the field so he flourisheth; For a wind hath passed over it, and it is not, And its place doth not discern it any more.

Only, in an image doth each walk habitually, Only, in vain, they are disquieted, He heapeth up and knoweth not who gathereth them.

Vain for you who are rising early, Who delay sitting, eating the bread of griefs, So He giveth to His beloved one sleep.

Lo, is it not from Jehovah of Hosts And peoples are fatigued for fire, And nations for vanity are weary?

for the sun did rise with the burning heat, and did wither the grass, and the flower of it fell, and the grace of its appearance did perish, so also the rich in his way shall fade away!

He knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.

for the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God, for it hath been written, 'Who is taking the wise in their craftiness;' and again, 'The Lord doth know the reasonings of the wise, that they are vain.'

because, having known God they did not glorify Him as God, nor gave thanks, but were made vain in their reasonings, and their unintelligent heart was darkened,

This, then, I say, and I testify in the Lord; ye are no more to walk, as also the other nations walk, in the vanity of their mind, being darkened in the understanding, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart,

We have heard of the pride of Moab -- very proud, His pride, and his arrogance, and his wrath, Not right are his devices.

We have heard of the arrogance of Moab, Exceeding proud! His haughtiness, and his arrogance, And his pride, and the height of his heart, I -- I have known, an affirmation of Jehovah, His wrath, and it is not right, His devices -- not right they have done.

He did powerfully with His arm, He scattered abroad the proud in the thought of their heart, He brought down the mighty from thrones, And He exalted the lowly,

Thus said Jehovah: Cursed is the man who doth trust in man, And hath made flesh his arm, And from Jehovah whose heart turneth.

Give to us help from adversity, And vain is the deliverance of man.

Give to us help from adversity, And vain is the salvation of man.

Trust not in princes -- in a son of man, For he hath no deliverance. His spirit goeth forth, he returneth to his earth, In that day have his thoughts perished.

Cease for you from man, Whose breath is in his nostrils, For -- in what is he esteemed?

Woe to apostate sons, The affirmation of Jehovah! To do counsel, and not from Me, And to spread out a covering, and not of My spirit, So as to add sin to sin. Who are walking to go down to Egypt, And My mouth have not asked, To be strong in the strength of Pharaoh, And to trust in the shadow of Egypt. And the strength of Pharaoh Hath been to you for shame, And the trust in the shadow of Egypt confusion,read more.
For in Zoan were his princes, And his messengers reach Hanes. All he made ashamed of a people that profit not, Neither for help, not for profit, But for shame, and also for reproach!

Woe to those going down to Egypt for help, And on horses lean, And trust on chariots, because many, And on horsemen, because very strong, And have not looked on the Holy One of Israel, And Jehovah have not sought. And He also is wise, and bringeth in evil, And His words He hath not turned aside, And He hath risen against a house of evil doers, And against the help of workers of iniquity. And the Egyptians are men, and not God, And their horses are flesh, and not spirit, And Jehovah stretcheth out His hand, And stumbled hath the helper, And fallen hath the helped one, And together all of them are consumed.

While we exist -- consumed are our eyes for our vain help, In our watch-tower we have watched for a nation that saveth not.

and reject His statutes and His covenant that He made with their fathers, and His testimonies that He testified against them, and go after the vain thing, and become vain, and after the nations that are round about them, of whom Jehovah commanded them not to do like them;

and ye do not turn aside after the vain things which do not profit nor deliver, for they are vain,

I have hated the observers of lying vanities, And I toward Jehovah have been confident.

Thus said Jehovah: What -- have your fathers found in Me perversity, That they have gone far off from Me, And go after the vanity, and become vain,

And in one they are brutish and foolish, An instruction of vanities is the tree itself.

O Jehovah, my strength, and my fortress, And my refuge in a day of adversity, Unto Thee nations do come from the ends of earth, And say, Only falsehood did our fathers inherit, Vanity, and none among them is profitable.

Those observing lying vanities their own mercy forsake.

And when they say unto you, 'Seek unto those having familiar spirits, And unto wizards, who chatter and mutter, Doth not a people seek unto its God? -- For the living unto the dead! To the law and to the testimony! If not, let them say after this manner, 'That there is no dawn to it.' -- And it hath passed over into it, hardened and hungry, And it hath come to pass, That it is hungry, and hath been wroth, And made light of its king, and of its God, And hath looked upwards.read more.
And unto the land it looketh attentively, And lo, adversity and darkness! -- Dimness, distress, and thick darkness is driven away, But not the dimness for which she is in distress!

They have seen vanity, and lying divination, Who are saying: An affirmation of Jehovah, And Jehovah hath not sent them, And they have hoped to establish a word. A vain vision have ye not seen, And a lying divination spoken, When ye say: An affirmation of Jehovah, And I have not spoken? Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen a lie, Therefore, lo, I am against you, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.read more.
And My hand hath been on the prophets, Who are seeing vanity, and who are divining a lie, In the assembly of My people they are not, And in the writing of the house of Israel they are not written, And unto the ground of Israel they come not, And ye have known that I am the Lord Jehovah.

Because the teraphim did speak iniquity, And the diviners have seen a falsehood, And dreams of the vanity they speak, With vanity they give comfort, Therefore they have journeyed as a flock, They are afflicted, for there is no shepherd.

and it cometh to pass, at the passing by of the noon, that they feign themselves prophets till the going up of the present, and there is no voice, and there is none answering, and there is none attending.

And it hath come to pass, when it hath been seen, That weary hath been Moab on the high place, And he hath come unto his sanctuary to pray, And is not able.

As a palm they are stiff, and they speak not, They are surely borne, for they step not, Be not afraid of them, for they do no evil, Yea, also to do good is not in them.

for before these days rose up Theudas, saying, that himself was some one, to whom a number of men did join themselves, as it were four hundred, who was slain, and all, as many as were obeying him, were scattered, and came to nought. 'After this one rose up, Judas the Galilean, in the days of the enrolment, and drew away much people after him, and that one perished, and all, as many as were obeying him, were scattered; and now I say to you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone, because if this counsel or this work may be of men, it will be overthrown,

If, then, ye did die with the Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances? -- thou mayest not touch, nor taste, nor handle -- which are all for destruction with the using, after the commands and teachings of men,read more.
which are, indeed, having a matter of wisdom in will-worship, and humble-mindedness, and neglecting of body -- not in any honour, unto a satisfying of the flesh.

Add not to bring in a vain present, Incense -- an abomination it is to Me, New moon, and sabbath, calling of convocation! Rendure not iniquity -- and a restraint!

Ye have said, 'A vain thing to serve God! And what gain when we kept His charge? And when we have gone in black, Because of Jehovah of Hosts?

This people doth draw nigh to Me with their mouth, and with the lips it doth honour Me, but their heart is far off from Me; and in vain do they worship Me, teaching teachings -- commands of men.'

and he answering said to them -- 'Well did Isaiah prophesy concerning you, hypocrites, as it hath been written, This people with the lips doth honour Me, and their heart is far from Me; and in vain do they worship Me, teaching teachings, commands of men;

And I, brethren, was not able to speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly -- as to babes in Christ; with milk I fed you, and not with meat, for ye were not yet able, but not even yet are ye now able, for yet ye are fleshly, for where there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not fleshly, and in the manner of men do walk?

If any one doth think to be religious among you, not bridling his tongue, but deceiving his heart, of this one vain is the religion;

and foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about law, stand away from -- for they are unprofitable and vain.

Lo, ye are trusting for yourselves On the words of falsehood, so as not to profit.

Thy prophets have seen for thee a false and insipid thing, And have not revealed concerning thine iniquity, To turn back thy captivity, And they see for thee false burdens and causes of expulsion.

Let no one deceive you with vain words, for because of these things cometh the anger of God upon the sons of the disobedience,

let no one beguile you of your prize, delighting in humble-mindedness and in worship of the messengers, intruding into the things he hath not seen, being vainly puffed up by the mind of his flesh,

from which certain, having swerved, did turn aside to vain discourse,

These things remind them of, testifying fully before the Lord -- not to strive about words to nothing profitable, but to the subversion of those hearing;

for overswellings of vanity speaking, they do entice in desires of the flesh -- lasciviousnesses, those who had truly escaped from those conducting themselves in error,

'I am the vine, ye the branches; he who is remaining in me, and I in him, this one doth bear much fruit, because apart from me ye are not able to do anything;

and if any one doth build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw -- of each the work shall become manifest, for the day shall declare it, because in fire it is revealed, and the work of each, what kind it is, the fire shall prove; if of any one the work doth remain that he built on it, a wage he shall receive;read more.
if of any the work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; and himself shall be saved, but so as through fire.

for we also are having good news proclaimed, even as they, but the word heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard,

'And every one who is hearing of me these words, and is not doing them, shall be likened to a foolish man who built his house upon the sand; and the rain did descend, and the streams came, and the winds blew, and they beat on that house, and it fell, and its fall was great.'

Every one hearing the word of the reign, and not understanding -- the evil one doth come, and doth catch that which hath been sown in his heart; this is that sown by the way. 'And that sown on the rocky places, this is he who is hearing the word, and immediately with joy is receiving it, and he hath not root in himself, but is temporary, and persecution or tribulation having happened because of the word, immediately he is stumbled.read more.
'And that sown toward the thorns, this is he who is hearing the word, and the anxiety of this age, and the deceitfulness of the riches, do choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

and become ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves, because, if any one is a hearer of the word and not a doer, this one hath been like to a man viewing his natural face in a mirror, for he did view himself, and hath gone away, and immediately he did forget of what kind he was;

And dost thou wish to know, O vain man, that the faith apart from the works is dead?

This evil people, who refuse to hear My words, Who walk in the stubbornness of their heart, And go after other gods to serve them, And to bow themselves to them, Yea it is -- as this girdle, that is not profitable for anything.

Why have nations tumultuously assembled? And do peoples meditate vanity?

The wicked seeth, and hath been angry, His teeth he gnasheth, and hath melted, The desire of the wicked doth perish!

Thou hast trodden down All going astray from Thy statutes, For falsehood is their deceit.

The hope of the righteous is joyful, And the expectation of the wicked perisheth.

In the death of a wicked man, hope perisheth, And the expectation of the iniquitous hath been lost.

Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, the wall of Babylon -- The broad one -- is utterly made bare, And her high gates with fire are burnt, And peoples labour in vain, And nations in fire, and have been weary!

and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of the darkness and rather even convict,

Only -- a vain thing! I have purified my heart, And I wash in innocency my hands,

For he hath said, 'It doth not profit a man, When he delighteth himself with God.'

And I said, 'For a vain thing I laboured, For emptiness and vanity my power I consumed, But my judgment is with Jehovah, And my wage with my God.

having known that, not with corruptible things -- silver or gold -- were ye redeemed from your foolish behaviour delivered by fathers,

if, then, any one may cleanse himself from these, he shall be a vessel to honour, sanctified and profitable to the master -- to every good work having been prepared,