Psalms 39:5-6

39:5 Look, you make my days short-lived,

and my life span is nothing from your perspective.

Surely all people, even those who seem secure, are nothing but vapor.

39:6 Surely people go through life as mere ghosts.

Surely they accumulate worthless wealth

without knowing who will eventually haul it away.”

Psalms 62:9

62:9 Men are nothing but a mere breath;

human beings are unreliable.

When they are weighed in the scales,

all of them together are lighter than air.

Psalms 89:47

89:47 Take note of my brief lifespan!

Why do you make all people so mortal?

Job 4:19

4:19 how much more to those who live in houses of clay,

whose foundation is in the dust,

who are crushed like a moth?

Job 14:1-3

The Brevity of Life

14:1 “Man, born of woman,

lives but a few days, and they are full of trouble.

14:2 He grows up like a flower and then withers away;

he flees like a shadow, and does not remain.

14:3 Do you fix your eye on such a one?

And do you bring me before you for judgment?

Ecclesiastes 1:2

Introduction: Utter Futility

1:2 “Futile! Futile!” laments the Teacher,

“Absolutely futile! Everything is futile!”

Ecclesiastes 1:14

1:14 I reflected on everything that is accomplished by man on earth,

and I concluded: Everything he has accomplished is futile – like chasing the wind!

Ecclesiastes 12:8

Concluding Refrain: Qoheleth Restates His Thesis

12:8 “Absolutely futile!” laments the Teacher,

“All of these things are futile!”