>`First, the list of words following {in} shall be expanded to generate
>a list of items.  Then, the variable {name} shall be set to each item,
>in turn, and the {compound-list} executed each time.  If no items
>result from the expansion, the {compound-list} shall not be executed.

>{Exit status}: The exit status of a {for} command shall be the exit
>status of the last command that executes.  If there are no items, the
>exit status shall be zero.'

That doesn't say that the unexpanded list of words can be empty, only
that the result can be empty.

-s