Bible Dictionaries
Vanity

　　Does not usually denote, in Scripture, self-conceit or personal pride, 2 Peter 2:18 , but sometimes emptiness and fruitlessness, Job 7:3 Psalm 144:4 Ecclesiastes 1:1-18 . It often denotes wickedness, particularly falsehood, Deuteronomy 32:21 Psalm 4:2 24:4 119:37 , and sometimes idols and idol-worship, 2 Kings 17:15 Jeremiah 2:5 18:15 Jonah 2:8 . Compare Paul's expression, "they turned the truth of God into a lie," Romans 1:25 . "In vain," in the second commandment, Exodus 20:7 , is unnecessarily and irreverently. "Vain men," 2 Samuel 6:20 2 Chronicles 13:7 , are dissolute and worthless fellows.