Thematic Bible: Labour
Thematic Bible
Labour » fields of activity » Worldly, sometimes disappointing
Then I considered all which my hands had done and labored to do, and behold, all was vanity and chasing after the wind and there was no profit (nothing of lasting value) under the sun.
“Why do you spend money for that which is not bread,
And your earnings for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And let your soul delight in
There was a certain man—without a dependent, having neither a child nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor. Indeed, his eyes were not satisfied with riches and he never asked, “For whom do I labor and deprive myself of pleasure?” This too is vanity (a wisp of smoke, self-conceit); yes, it is a painful effort and an unhappy task.
What advantage does man have from all his work
Which he does
I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity, a futile grasping and chasing after the wind.
This also is a grievous evil—exactly as he was born, so he shall die. So what advantage has he who labors for the wind?
“Is it not indeed from the Lord of hosts
That peoples labor [only] for the fire [that will destroy their work],
And nations grow weary for nothing [that is, things which have no lasting value]?
Labour » Woman's » Manual labour
All the skilled and talented women spun thread with their hands, and brought what they had spun, blue and purple and scarlet fabric and fine linen.
He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers.
And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ So she came and has continued [gathering grain] from early morning until now, except when she sat [resting] for a little while in the [field] house.”
Labour » Manual, done by women
All the skilled and talented women spun thread with their hands, and brought what they had spun, blue and purple and scarlet fabric and fine linen.
He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers.
And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ So she came and has continued [gathering grain] from early morning until now, except when she sat [resting] for a little while in the [field] house.”
Labour » Woman's » As housekeepers
He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers.
But Martha was very busy and distracted with all of her serving responsibilities; and she approached Him and said, “Lord, is it of no concern to You that my sister has left me to do the serving alone? Tell her to help me and do her part.”
Go now to the flock and bring me two good and suitable young goats, and I will make them into a savory dish [of meat] for your father, the kind he loves [to eat].
She rises also while it is still night
And gives food to her household
And assigns tasks to her maids.
Labour » Troubles
And [Jesus] started to speak to them in parables [with comparisons and illustrations]. A man planted a vineyard and put a hedge around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower and let it out [for rent] to vinedressers and went into another country. When the season came, he sent a bond servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. But they took him and beat him and sent him away without anything. read more.
Again he sent to them another bond servant, and they stoned him and wounded him in the head and treated him shamefully [sending him away with insults]. And he sent another, and that one they killed; then many others -- "some they beat, and some they put to death. He had still one left [to send], a beloved son; last of all he sent him to them, saying, They will respect my son. But those tenants said to one another, Here is the heir; come on, let us put him to death, and [then] the inheritance will be ours. And they took him and killed him, and threw [his body] outside the vineyard. Now what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants, and give the vineyard to others.
Again he sent to them another bond servant, and they stoned him and wounded him in the head and treated him shamefully [sending him away with insults]. And he sent another, and that one they killed; then many others -- "some they beat, and some they put to death. He had still one left [to send], a beloved son; last of all he sent him to them, saying, They will respect my son. But those tenants said to one another, Here is the heir; come on, let us put him to death, and [then] the inheritance will be ours. And they took him and killed him, and threw [his body] outside the vineyard. Now what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants, and give the vineyard to others.
And when they received it, they grumbled at the owner of the estate, Saying, These [men] who came last worked no more than an hour, and yet you have made them rank with us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.
Listen to another parable: There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a hedge around it and dug a wine vat in it and built a watchtower. Then he let it out [for rent] to tenants and went into another country. When the fruit season drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his [share of the] fruit. But the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.
Labour » Women » Women's Work » fields of activity » Serving the church
Indeed, I ask you too, my true companion, to help these women [to keep on cooperating], for they have shared my struggle in the [cause of the] gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.
Now I introduce and commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deaconess (servant) of the church at Cenchrea,
Labour » Hard, as punishment
Then the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with [two] bronze chains; and he was forced to be a grinder [of grain into flour at the mill] in the prison.
Now on that day Joshua made them cutters and gatherers of firewood and water carriers for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord, to this day, in the place which He would choose.
So they set over [the Israelites] taskmasters to afflict and oppress them with [increased] burdens. And [the Israelites] built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. But the more [the Egyptians] oppressed them, the more they multiplied and expanded, so that [the Egyptians] were vexed and alarmed because of the Israelites. And the Egyptians reduced the Israelites to severe slavery. read more.
They made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar, brick, and all kinds of work in the field. All their service was with harshness and severity.
They made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar, brick, and all kinds of work in the field. All their service was with harshness and severity.
Labour » Women » Women's Work » fields of activity » Motherly duties
Moreover, his mother would make him a little robe and would bring it up to him each year when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.
When he had carried and brought him to his mother, he sat on her lap until noon, and then he died.
Labour » Women » Women's Work » fields of activity » Acting as judges
Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time.
“The villagers ceased to be; they ceased in Israel
Until I, Deborah, arose,
Until I arose, a mother in Israel.
Labour » Women » Women's Work » fields of activity » Meeting an emergency and saving her household
Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread, two jugs of wine, five sheep already prepared [for roasting], five measures of roasted grain, a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and loaded them on donkeys.
Labour » Women » Women's Work » fields of activity » In beautifying the tabernacle
All the skilled and talented women spun thread with their hands, and brought what they had spun, blue and purple and scarlet fabric and fine linen.
Labour » Women » Women's Work » fields of activity » Philanthropy
Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha, (which translated into Greek means Dorcas). She was rich in acts of kindness and charity which she continually did.
Let us » Labour
Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest [of God, to know and experience it for ourselves], so that no one will fall by following the same example of disobedience [as those who died in the wilderness].
Worldly » Labour » Worldly, sometimes disappointing
Then I considered all which my hands had done and labored to do, and behold, all was vanity and chasing after the wind and there was no profit (nothing of lasting value) under the sun.
“Why do you spend money for that which is not bread,
And your earnings for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And let your soul delight in
There was a certain man—without a dependent, having neither a child nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor. Indeed, his eyes were not satisfied with riches and he never asked, “For whom do I labor and deprive myself of pleasure?” This too is vanity (a wisp of smoke, self-conceit); yes, it is a painful effort and an unhappy task.
What advantage does man have from all his work
Which he does
I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity, a futile grasping and chasing after the wind.
This also is a grievous evil—exactly as he was born, so he shall die. So what advantage has he who labors for the wind?
“Is it not indeed from the Lord of hosts
That peoples labor [only] for the fire [that will destroy their work],
And nations grow weary for nothing [that is, things which have no lasting value]?