Bible Verses About Vanity

Vanity is a recurring theme in the Bible, often associated with pride, self-centeredness, and the fleeting nature of worldly pursuits. Scripture warns against placing too much value on outward appearances, wealth, and temporary accomplishments, reminding us that true fulfillment comes from a life focused on God’s wisdom and purpose. In this post, we’ll explore Bible verses that address the dangers of vanity, encouraging us to seek a deeper, more meaningful relationship with God rather than the superficial allure of worldly desires.

Bible Verses About Vanity

Ecclesiastes 1:2 – “Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”

Proverbs 31:30 – “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”

1 Samuel 16:7 – “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.'”

Ecclesiastes 2:11 – “Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.”

James 4:14 – “Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.”

Matthew 6:19-21 – “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Psalm 39:5 – “Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing in Your sight; surely every man at his best is a mere breath.”

Ecclesiastes 4:4 – “And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”

Psalm 127:1 – “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.”

Ecclesiastes 5:10 – “Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.”

Proverbs 11:22 – “Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion.”

Ecclesiastes 6:11 – “The more the words, the less the meaning, and how does that profit anyone?”

Isaiah 40:6-8 – “All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”

1 Peter 1:24 – “For, ‘All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall.'”

Ecclesiastes 7:6 – “For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool; this also is vanity.”

Proverbs 16:18 – “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”

Ecclesiastes 11:10 – “So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless.”

Jeremiah 9:23-24 – “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me.”

1 John 2:16 – “For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.”

Psalm 62:9 – “Surely the lowborn are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie. If weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath.”

Ecclesiastes 8:14 – “There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: the righteous who get what the wicked deserve, and the wicked who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless.”

Psalm 144:4 – “Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.”

Ecclesiastes 3:19 – “Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath.”

Galatians 6:3 – “If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves.”

Ecclesiastes 9:9 – “Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days.”

Proverbs 21:2 – “A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart.”

Psalm 94:11 – “The Lord knows all human plans; he knows that they are futile.”

Ecclesiastes 12:8 – “‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’ says the Teacher. ‘Everything is meaningless!'”

Isaiah 2:22 – “Stop trusting in mere humans, who have but a breath in their nostrils. Why hold them in esteem?”

Proverbs 14:12 – “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.”

Ecclesiastes 5:7 – “Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore fear God.”

Jeremiah 10:14 – “Everyone is senseless and without knowledge; every goldsmith is shamed by his idols. The images he makes are a fraud; they have no breath in them.”

Ecclesiastes 2:26 – “To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”

Psalm 119:37 – “Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.”

Ecclesiastes 1:14 – “I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”

Proverbs 23:4-5 – “Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.”

Isaiah 57:13 – “When you cry out for help, let your collection of idols save you! The wind will carry them all off, a mere breath will blow them away. But whoever takes refuge in me will inherit the land and possess my holy mountain.”

Ecclesiastes 10:13 – “At the beginning their words are folly; at the end they are wicked madness.”

Job 7:16 – “I despise my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone; my days have no meaning.”

Romans 1:21 – “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

Ecclesiastes 4:8 – “There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. ‘For whom am I toiling,’ he asked, ‘and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?’ This too is meaningless—a miserable business!”

Psalm 39:6 – “Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom; in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth without knowing whose it will finally be.”

Ecclesiastes 2:15 – “Then I said to myself, ‘The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise?’ I said to myself, ‘This too is meaningless.'”

Proverbs 27:20 – “Death and Destruction are never satisfied, and neither are human eyes.”

Ecclesiastes 1:8 – “All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing.”

Jeremiah 2:5 – “This is what the Lord says: ‘What fault did your ancestors find in me, that they strayed so far from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves.'”

Proverbs 30:8 – “Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.”

Isaiah 44:9 – “All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Those who would speak up for them are blind; they are ignorant, to their own shame.”

Psalm 49:20 – “People who have wealth but lack understanding are like the beasts that perish.”

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