riq denotes futility in labor and plans, and can describe what is empty or ineffective.

The attested uses chiefly describe effort that produces no intended result, especially labor, sowing, or exertion that ends without gain. In a smaller cluster, the noun characterizes help, an object, or spoken purposes as empty or ineffective.

1. Fruitless labor or exertion · dominant

   The absolute singular noun occurs where work or strength fails to bring its expected outcome. In Leviticus 26:16 the APB renders seed sown without benefit while enemies eat it; in Leviticus 26:20, spent strength is followed by land and trees withholding produce. Isaiah 49:4, Isaiah 65:23, Job 39:16, and Psalm 73:13 likewise place it with toil, labor, or keeping oneself clean without the expected result.

   Leviticus 26:16Leviticus 26:20Isaiah 49:4Isaiah 65:23Job 39:16Psalm 73:13
2. Empty or ineffective help, object, or purpose · occasional

   The same absolute singular form can mark what lacks effective substance or outcome apart from labor itself. In Isaiah 30:7 the APB describes Egypt's help as ineffective; in Jeremiah 51:34 it depicts an “empty vessel”; and in Psalm 2:1 it renders the peoples' utterance as “vain things.”

   Isaiah 30:7Jeremiah 51:34Psalm 2:1

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB variously presents the surrounding clauses with “in vain,” “for nothing,” “empty,” and “vain things.” These are whole-verse presentations rather than definitions; in Psalm 4:3, the lemma's specific contribution is not clear from the supplied APB wording.