Vanity of vanities; all is vanity

1. A statement at the beginning of the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament. The pointlessness of human activity is the major theme of the book. The author, however, like Job, insists that God's laws must be kept, whether keeping them results in happiness or sorrow.

Example Sentences

“Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. What profit has man in all his toil that he toils under the sun?”

From Wall Street Journal

“The title ‘Vanitas’ comes from a quotation from the Book of Ecclesiastes 1:2, ‘Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.'”

From Time

On Sukkot, Jews read Ecclesiastes with its message, “vanity of vanities; all is vanity.”

From Washington Post

Epicurus took his conception of Chance from "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity;" while the Sabbath is found in several lines of Homer—unfortunately spurious.

From Project Gutenberg

"Vanity of vanities, all is vanity, saith the Preacher," and I say after him, Is there nothing but nettles in the world's garden,—nothing but noxious weeds?

From Project Gutenberg