Lexicon :: Strong's G3153 - mataiotēs

How long, exalted ones,[fn] will my honor be insulted?

How long will you love what is worthless

and pursue a lie?Selah

I do not sit with the worthless

or associate with hypocrites.

I[fn] hate those who are devoted to worthless idols,

but I trust in the LORD.

Those who intend to kill me set traps,

and those who want to harm me threaten to destroy me;

they plot treachery all day long.

“In fact, you have made my days just inches long,

and my life span is as nothing to you.

Yes, every human being stands as only a vapor.Selah

How happy is anyone

who has put his trust in the LORD

and has not turned to the proud

or to those who run after lies!

“Here is the man

who would not make God his refuge,

but trusted in the abundance of his riches,

taking refuge in his destructive behavior.”

Common people are only a vapor;

important people, an illusion.

Together on a scale,

they weigh less than[fn] a vapor.

He made their days end in futility,

their years in sudden disaster.

Turn my eyes

from looking at what is worthless;

give me life in your ways.[fn]

who invoke you deceitfully.

Your enemies swear by you falsely.

A human is like a breath;

his days are like a passing shadow.

whose mouths speak lies,

whose right hands are deceptive.

Set me free and rescue me

from foreigners

whose mouths speak lies,

whose right hands are deceptive.

The one who sows injustice will reap disaster,

and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.

“Absolute futility,” says the Teacher.

“Absolute futility. Everything is futile.”

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

I said to myself, “Go ahead, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good.” But it turned out to be futile.

When I considered all that I had accomplished[fn] and what I had labored to achieve, I found everything to be futile and a pursuit of the wind.[fn] There was nothing to be gained under the sun.

So I said to myself, “What happens to the fool will also happen to me. Why then have I been overly wise? ” And I said to myself that this is also futile.

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

And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will take over all my work that I labored at skillfully under the sun. This too is futile.

When there is a person whose work was done with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and he must give his portion to a person who has not worked for it, this too is futile and a great wrong.

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

For to the person who is pleasing in his sight, he gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy; but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and accumulating in order to give to the one who is pleasing in God’s sight. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

For the fate of the children of Adam and the fate of animals is the same. As one dies, so dies the other; they all have the same breath. People have no advantage over animals since everything is futile.

I saw that all labor and all skillful work is due to one person’s jealousy of another. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.[fn]

Again, I saw futility under the sun:

There is no limit to all the people who were before them, yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

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

The one who loves silver is never satisfied with silver, and whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with income. This too is futile.

God gives a person riches, wealth, and honor so that he lacks nothing of all he desires for himself, but God does not allow him to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger will enjoy them. This is futile and a sickening tragedy.

For he comes in futility and he goes in darkness, and his name is shrouded in darkness.

Better what the eyes see than wandering desire. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.[fn]

For when there are many words, they increase futility. What is the advantage for mankind?

for like the crackling of burning thorns under the pot,

so is the laughter of the fool.

This too is futile.

In my futile life[fn] I have seen everything: someone righteous perishes in spite of his righteousness, and someone wicked lives long in spite of his evil.

In such circumstances, I saw the wicked buried. They came and went from the holy place, and they were praised[fn] in the city where they did those things. This too is futile.

There is a futility that is done on the earth: there are righteous people who get what the actions of the wicked deserve, and there are wicked people who get what the actions of the righteous deserve. I say that this too is futile.

Everything is the same for everyone: There is one fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad,[fn] for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not sacrifice. As it is for the good, so also it is for the sinner; as it is for the one who takes an oath, so also for the one who fears an oath.

Enjoy life with the wife you love all the days of your fleeting[fn] life, which has been given to you under the sun, all your fleeting days. For that is your portion in life and in your struggle under the sun.

Indeed, if someone lives many years,

let him rejoice in them all,

and let him remember the days of darkness, since they will be many.

All that comes is futile.

Remove sorrow from your heart,

and put away pain from your flesh,

because youth and the prime of life are fleeting.

“Absolute futility,” says the Teacher. “Everything is futile.”