Industry: General Scriptures Concerning

Then the LORD God took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it.

For six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you must cease, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the son of your maidservant may be refreshed, as well as the foreign resident.

For six days work may be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of complete rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on that day must be put to death.

Six days you shall labor and do all your work,

Idle hands make one poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.

He who gathers in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.

The one who works his land will have plenty of food, but whoever chases fantasies lacks judgment.

The hand of the diligent will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor.

A lazy man does not roast his game, but a diligent man prizes his possession.

The slacker craves yet has nothing, but the soul of the diligent is fully satisfied.

Dishonest wealth will dwindle, but what is earned through hard work will be multiplied.

Abundant food is in the fallow ground of the poor, but without justice it is swept away.

Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty, but an abundant harvest comes through the strength of the ox.

There is profit in all labor, but mere talk leads only to poverty.

A worker’s appetite works for him because his hunger drives him onward.

Do not love sleep, or you will grow poor; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of food.

The plans of the diligent bring plenty, as surely as haste leads to poverty.

Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will be stationed in the presence of kings; he will not stand before obscure men.

Be sure to know the state of your flocks, and pay close attention to your herds; …

The one who works his land will have plenty of food, but whoever chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty.

The ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer; …

She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands. …

What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?

Anything my eyes desired, I did not deny myself. I refused my heart no pleasure. For my heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.

Yet when I considered all the works that my hands had accomplished and what I had toiled to achieve, I found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind; there was nothing to be gained under the sun.

So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind. …

Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

He who watches the wind will fail to sow, and he who observes the clouds will fail to reap.

Sow your seed in the morning, and do not rest your hands in the evening, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or if both will equally prosper.

Do not let your zeal subside; keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing good with his own hands, that he may have something to share with the one in need.

…and to aspire to live quietly, to attend to your own matters, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you.

Then you will behave properly toward outsiders, without being dependent on anyone.

For even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “If anyone is unwilling to work, he shall not eat.” …

If anyone does not provide for his own, and especially his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.