Psa 39:6, 49:16-20, Ecc 2:3-26, Isa 55:2, Luk 12:19, 16:19, Jam 4:13 | ESV | STEP | Surely a man goes about as a shadow ! Surely for nothing they are in turmoil ; man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather !

6 Surely a man ^agoes about as a shadow!
Surely for nothing ^{▼▼Hebrew Surely as a breath} they are in turmoil;
man ^cheaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!

Psalms 49:16-20

16 Be not afraid when a man becomes rich,
when the glory of his house increases.
17 ^dFor when he dies he will ^ecarry nothing away;
his glory will not go down after him.
18 For though, while he lives, he counts himself ^fblessed
—and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—
19 his soul will ^ggo to the generation of his fathers,
who will never again ^hsee light.
20 ⁱMan in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

Ecclesiastes 2:3-26

3 I ^jsearched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine—my heart still guiding me with wisdom—and how to lay hold on ^kfolly, till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the few days of their life. 4 I made great works. I ^lbuilt houses and planted ^mvineyards for myself. 5 I made myself ⁿgardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. 6 I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves, and had ^oslaves who were born in my house. I had also great possessions of ^pherds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. 8 I also gathered for myself silver and ^qgold and the treasure of ^rkings and ^sprovinces. I got ^tsingers, both men and women, and many ^uconcubines, ^{▼▼The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain} the delight of the sons of man.

9 So I became great and ^wsurpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my ^xwisdom remained with me. 10 And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart ^yfound pleasure in all my toil, and this was my ^zreward for all my toil. 11 Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was ^aavanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing ^abto be gained under the sun.

The Vanity of Living Wisely

12 ^acSo I turned to consider ^adwisdom and madness and folly. For what can the man do who comes after the king? Only ^aewhat has already been done. 13 Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness. 14 ^afThe wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I perceived that the ^agsame event happens to all of them. 15 Then I said in my heart, ^ah“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. 16 For of the wise as of the fool there is ^aino enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. ^ajHow the wise dies just like the fool! 17 So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for ^akall is vanity and a striving after wind.

The Vanity of Toil

18 I hated ^alall my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must ^amleave it to the man who will come after me, 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. 20 So I ^anturned about and gave my heart up to despair ^aoover all the toil of my labors under the sun, 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. 22 What has a man from ^apall the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? 23 For ^aqall his days are full of sorrow, and his ^arwork is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.

24 ^asThere is nothing better for a person than that he should ^ateat and drink and find enjoyment ^{▼▼Or and make his soul see good} in his toil. This also, I saw, is ^avfrom the hand of God, 25 for apart from him ^{▼▼Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts apart from me} who can eat or who can have enjoyment? 26 For to the one who pleases him ^axGod has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given ^aythe business of gathering and collecting, ^azonly to give to one who pleases God. ^baThis also is vanity and a striving after wind.

Isaiah 55:2

2 ^bbWhy do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.

Luke 12:19

19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up ^bcfor many years; relax, ^bdeat, drink, be merry.”’

Luke 16:19

The Rich Man and Lazarus

19 “There was a rich man who was clothed in ^bepurple and fine linen and ^bfwho feasted sumptuously every day.

James 4:13

Boasting About Tomorrow

13 Come now, you who say, ^bg“Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—