Vain
רִיקStrong’s H7385riq
Appears in 12 verses of the Old Testament
In short
Riq is the Hebrew word usually translated “emptiness” and “vanity”. It appears in 12 verses of the Old Testament.
“I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.”
Meaning
- Emptiness, vanity, empty, idle, vain
How it's translated
- to emptiness 5
- vanity 4
- emptiness 2
- and vanity 1
Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.
Where it's used most
- Psalms 3
- Isaiah 3
- Leviticus 2
- Jeremiah 2
- Job 1
- Habakkuk 1
6 books in all.
Explore in Scripture
- Leviticus 26:20And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits.
- Job 39:16She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers: her labour is in vain without fear;
- Psalms 2:1Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
- Psalms 4:2O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah.
- Psalms 73:13Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency.
- Isaiah 30:7For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still.
Hebrew dictionary
רִיק riq · vain
emptiness, vanity, empty, idle, vain
From STEPBible’s Hebrew lexicon (based on Brown-Driver-Briggs).
Webster's 1828 Dictionary
How the English word “vain” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.
VAIN, adjective
[Latin vanus; Eng. wan, wane, want.]
- Empty; worthless; having no substance, value or importance. 1 Peter 1:18“Every man walketh in a vain show” Psalms 39:6“Why do the people imagine a vain thing?” Psalms 2:1
- Fruitless; ineffectual.
- Proud of petty things, or of trifling attainments; elated with a high opinion of one's own accomplishments, or with things more showy than valuable; conceited.
- Empty; unreal; as a vain chimers.
All definitions
- Showy; ostentatious.
- Light; inconstant; worthless. Proverbs 12:11
- Empty; unsatisfying.
- False; deceitful; not genuine; spurious. James 1:26
- Not effectual; having no efficacy“Bring no more vain oblations” Isaiah 1:13“In vain they do worship me” Matthew 15:9
Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). Verse references are checked against the KJV. Read the full entry.
Verses are from the King James Version. Word meanings come from the original Hebrew, not from any one translation.