הֶ֫בֶל

They have provoked My jealousy by that which is not God; they have enraged Me with their worthless idols. So I will make them jealous by those who are not a people; I will make them angry by a nation without understanding.

This happened because of all the sins Baasha and his son Elah had committed and had caused Israel to commit, provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger with their worthless idols.

For he walked in all the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat and in his sins, which he caused Israel to commit, provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger with their worthless idols.

They rejected His statutes and the covenant He had made with their fathers, as well as the decrees He had given them. They pursued worthless idols and became worthless themselves, going after the surrounding nations that the LORD had commanded them not to imitate.

I loathe my life! I would not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath.

Since I am already found guilty, why should I labor in vain?

So how can you comfort me with empty words? For your answers remain full of falsehood.”

Surely all of you have seen it for yourselves. Why then do you keep up this empty talk?

So Job opens his mouth in vain and multiplies words without knowledge.”

I hate those who cling to worthless idols, but in the LORD I trust.

You, indeed, have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing before You. Truly each man at his best exists as but a breath. Selah

Surely every man goes about like a phantom; surely he bustles in vain; he heaps up riches not knowing who will haul them away.

You discipline and correct a man for his iniquity, consuming like a moth what he holds dear; surely each man is but a vapor. Selah

Lowborn men are but a vapor; the exalted are but a lie. Weighed on the scale, they go up; together they are but a vapor.

So He ended their days in futility, and their years in sudden terror.

The LORD knows the thoughts of man, that they are futile.

Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.

Dishonest wealth will dwindle, but what is earned through hard work will be multiplied.

Making a fortune by a lying tongue is a vanishing mist, a deadly pursuit.

Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”

I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.

I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good!” But it proved to be futile.

Yet when I considered all the works that my hands had accomplished and what I had toiled to achieve, I found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind; there was nothing to be gained under the sun.

So I said to myself, “The fate of the fool will also befall me. What then have I gained by being wise?” And I said to myself that this too is futile.

So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

And who knows whether that man will be wise or foolish? Yet he will take over all the labor at which I have worked skillfully under the sun. This too is futile.

When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and he must give his portion to a man who has not worked for it, this too is futile and a great evil.

Indeed, all his days are filled with grief, and his task is sorrowful; even at night, his mind does not rest. This too is futile.

To the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner He assigns the task of gathering and accumulating that which he will hand over to one who pleases God. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

For the fates of both men and beasts are the same: As one dies, so dies the other—they all have the same breath. Man has no advantage over the animals, since everything is futile.

I saw that all labor and success spring from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

Again, I saw futility under the sun.

There is a man all alone, without even a son or brother. And though there is no end to his labor, his eyes are still not content with his wealth: “For whom do I toil and bereave my soul of enjoyment?” This too is futile—a miserable task.

There is no limit to all the people who were before them. Yet the successor will not be celebrated by those who come even later. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

For as many dreams bring futility, so do many words. Therefore, fear God.

He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is futile.

God gives a man riches, wealth, and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart desires; but God does not allow him to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger will enjoy them. This is futile and a grievous affliction.

For a stillborn child enters in futility and departs in darkness, and his name is shrouded in obscurity.

Better what the eye can see than the wandering of desire. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

For the more words, the more futility—and how does that profit anyone?

For who knows what is good for a man during the few days in which he passes through his fleeting life like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will come after him under the sun?

For like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This too is futile.

In my futile life I have seen both of these: A righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.

Then too, I saw the burial of the wicked who used to go in and out of the holy place, and they were praised in the city where they had done so. This too is futile.