Ecclesiastes 1:2
English Standard Version
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 1:2 The Hebrew term hebel, translated vanity or vain, refers concretely to a “mist,” “vapor,” or “mere breath,” and metaphorically to something that is fleeting or elusive (with different nuances depending on the context). It appears five times in this verse and in 29 other verses in Ecclesiastes
Romans 8:20
English Standard Version
20 For the creation (A)was subjected to futility, not willingly, but (B)because of him who subjected it, in hope
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Psalm 144:4
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Ecclesiastes 5:10
English Standard Version
10 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.
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Ecclesiastes 12:8
English Standard Version
8 (A)Vanity[a] of vanities, says (B)the Preacher; all is vanity.
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- Ecclesiastes 12:8 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath” (three times in this verse); see note on 1:2
Psalm 39:5-6
English Standard Version
5 Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,
and (A)my lifetime is as nothing before you.
Surely (B)all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah
6 Surely a man (C)goes about as a shadow!
Surely for nothing[a] they are in turmoil;
man (D)heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!
Footnotes
- Psalm 39:6 Hebrew Surely as a breath
Ecclesiastes 2:26
English Standard Version
26 For to the one who pleases him (A)God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given (B)the business of gathering and collecting, (C)only to give to one who pleases God. (D)This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
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Ecclesiastes 2:19
English Standard Version
19 and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity.
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Ecclesiastes 2:11
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11 Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was (A)vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing (B)to be gained under the sun.
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Ecclesiastes 2:23
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23 For (A)all his days are full of sorrow, and his (B)work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.
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Ecclesiastes 2:17
English Standard Version
17 So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for (A)all is vanity and a striving after wind.
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Ecclesiastes 11:8
English Standard Version
8 So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember (A)that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is (B)vanity.[a]
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- Ecclesiastes 11:8 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath”; also verse 10 (see note on 1:2)
Ecclesiastes 6:11
English Standard Version
11 The more words, the more vanity, and what is the advantage to man?
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Ecclesiastes 4:8
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8 one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his (A)eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, (B)“For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy (C)business.
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Ecclesiastes 4:4
English Standard Version
4 Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man's envy of his neighbor. This also is (A)vanity[a] and a striving after wind.
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- Ecclesiastes 4:4 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath”; also verses 7, 8, 16 (see note on 1:2)
Ecclesiastes 3:19
English Standard Version
19 (A)For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity.[a]
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- Ecclesiastes 3:19 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath” (see note on 1:2)
Ecclesiastes 2:21
English Standard Version
21 because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil.
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Psalm 62:9-10
English Standard Version
Ecclesiastes 4:16
English Standard Version
16 There was no end of all the people, all of whom he led. Yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is (A)vanity and a striving after wind.
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Ecclesiastes 11:10
English Standard Version
10 Remove vexation from your heart, and (A)put away pain[a] from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.
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- Ecclesiastes 11:10 Or evil
Ecclesiastes 2:15
English Standard Version
15 Then I said in my heart, (A)“What happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why then have I been so very wise?” And I said in my heart that this also is vanity.
Read full chapterThe Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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