32 Bible Verses about Occupations

Jesus [then] said to the leading priests and elders of the Jewish people, "Did you not ever read in the Scriptures [Psa. 118:22-23], 'The building block rejected by the builders is the same one that was made the principal stone by which the entire building was aligned. This was planned by the Lord and is a marvelous thing to us'?

Have you never read this Scripture [Psa. 118:22-23], 'The building block rejected by the builders is the same [one] that was made the principal stone by which the entire building was aligned.

But Jesus looked at them and said, "Then what does it mean that is written [Psa. 118:22], 'The building block rejected by the builders [is] the same [one] that was made the principal stone by which the entire building was aligned?'

He is that [Psa. 118:22], 'stone that was rejected by you builders but was made the principal stone by which the entire building is aligned.'

Using the unearned favor shown to me by God [Note: Paul here probably refers to his apostleship and its attending spiritual gifts], as an expert building contractor, I laid the foundation [i.e., in starting the Corinthian church], and someone else is building on it [i.e., Apollos. See verse 6]. For no one can lay [any] other foundation than the one which [God] has [already] laid, which is Jesus Christ. But if anyone [i.e., a preacher or soul winner] builds on this foundation with gold, silver, expensive building stones, wood, grass, or straw,read more.
[the quality of] each person's work will become evident [i.e., for what is it made of]. For the [judgment] day will expose his workmanship. And it will be revealed by the fire [of judgment], which will test the quality of a person's workmanship [i.e., the faithfulness of his converts]. If the work of anyone lasts [i.e., if his converts are judged faithful], he will receive a reward [i.e., his converts will constitute part of his reward]. But if anyone's work is burned up [i.e., does not survive the judgment], he will experience loss [i.e., of his converts], but he himself will [still] be saved, like a person escaping from the fire [i.e., of a burning building, which consumes his efforts].

For Jesus has been considered deserving of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house deserves greater honor than the house itself.

To those of you who believe in Him then, this "Stone" is [very] precious. But to those who do not believe [Psa. 118:22 says], "The stone which those in charge of the building project have rejected has been made the principal stone for aligning the whole structure."

Is not he the carpenter's [i.e., Joseph's] son? [And] is not his mother named Mary, and his brothers [named] James, Joseph, Simon and Judas?

And Peter lived for some time in Joppa with Simon, who was an [animal hide] tanner.

he is staying with Simon, a tanner [of animal hides], whose house is close to the [Mediterranean] sea."

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is similar to a [retail] merchant searching to buy some fine pearls. When he found an extremely valuable one he went and sold all that he owned and bought it.

After this happened Paul left Athens and went to Corinth [i.e., a principal city of Greece]. There he met a certain Jewish man named Aquila, a native of Pontus, [in northern Asia Minor] who, with his wife Priscilla, had recently come from Rome, because Claudius [the Roman Emperor] had ordered all Jews out of that city. Paul met this couple and, because they followed the same trade of tentmaking, he stayed with them and went to work [for them].

And when He had arrived at Capernaum, a military officer approached Him, begging, "Sir, my slave-boy is at home sick in bed with a paralyzing disease and in serious pain." Jesus said, "I will go and heal him."read more.
But the military officer answered, "Sir, I do not deserve for you to come into my house; just say the word and [I know] my slave-boy will be healed. For I also am a man [who serves] under the authority [of others], and I have soldiers [who serve] under me. I can say to this one 'Go,' and he goes, and to another one, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my slave 'Do this,' and he does it." And when Jesus heard this, He was amazed and said to those who were following [along], "It is true when I tell to you, I have never found [anyone with] such great faith, not [even] among the Israelites. And I [also] say to you, that many people will come from the east and the west and will sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the children who [are supposed to] belong to the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness where there will be crying and excruciating pain." And Jesus said to the military officer, "Go on your way; since you have believed [in my power to heal], what you desired will be done for you." And the slave-boy was healed that [very] hour.

After Jesus had finished telling the people all He had to say, He went into Capernaum. And a certain military officer's slave [was there], whom the officer highly valued. This slave was [so] sick that he was about to die. And when the officer heard about Jesus, he sent [some] Jewish elders to Him asking that He come and heal his slave.read more.
And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying, "This officer deserves that you should do this for him [i.e., heal his slave], for he loves our nation and he is the one who built the synagogue for us." So, Jesus went with them. And when He got close to the military officer's house, the officer sent [his] friends to Jesus, saying to Him [i.e., speaking on behalf of the military officer], "Sir, do not trouble yourself, for I do not deserve for you to come into my house; [and] for the same reason I did not think I deserved to come to you either. So, [just] say the word and [I know] my slave will be healed. For I also am a man [who was] placed under the authority [of others], and I have soldiers [who serve] under me. I can say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another one, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it." And when Jesus heard these things, He was amazed and said to the crowd that was following Him, "I tell you, I have never found [anyone with] such great faith, not [even] among the Israelites." And those who were sent [i.e., the officer's friends. See verse 6] returned to the house and found the slave completely well.

Some soldiers on duty also asked him, "And what must we do [i.e., to demonstrate our repentance]?" And he answered them, "Do not force people to give you money or accuse them falsely, and be content with your pay."

Now there was a certain man in Caesarea named Cornelius. He was [a military man] in charge of one hundred soldiers and belonged to the "battalion of Italy." He was very devoted [to his religious principles] and had great respect for God, along with the members of his household. He gave [money] liberally to poor people and prayed to God regularly. About three o'clock one afternoon [Note: This is based on Jewish time calculations; if Roman time were employed, it would have beenread more.
As he stared at [the angel] in fright, he asked, "What is it, Lord?" [Note: The word "Lord" here could also be translated "Sir," and its correct rendering depends on whether or not Cornelius understood the angel to be from God]. And the angel replied, "Your [continual] prayers and [generous] gifts to poor people have not gone unnoticed before God. And now send men to Joppa to get Simon Peter; he is staying with Simon, a tanner [of animal hides], whose house is close to the [Mediterranean] sea." When the angel who spoke with him had left, Cornelius called two of his house servants and a soldier who was devoted [to God], men who worked for him regularly, and after explaining the whole situation to them, he sent them on to Joppa.

[Be willing to] suffer hardship with me like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier on active duty, gets himself involved in the affairs of civilian life, so that he can please the person who enlisted him [i.e., his commanding officer].

Jesus said to him, "Be sure you do not tell anyone [about your healing yet]; but [first] go and show yourself to the priest and then offer the [sacrificial] gift required by the law of Moses [See Lev. 13:49; 14:2ff], as evidence to them [that you have been healed]."

In the same way, a Levite [Note: Levites were assistants to the priests], when coming to that place and seeing the [injured] man, also went around him on the opposite side [of the road].

"Truly, truly, I tell you, the person who does not enter the sheep corral through the gate, but climbs over another way [i.e., over the fence], is a thief and a robber. [Note: "Thief" suggests quiet subtlety, while "robber" suggests open aggression]. But the One [i.e., Jesus is referring to Himself] who enters [it] through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep [Note: "Sheep" in this section refers to Jesus' followers]. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep respond to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out [of the corral].

Now there were [some] shepherds in that region who were living in the fields and guarding their flocks [of sheep] at night. [Suddenly] an angel from the Lord [was seen] standing near them and the glorious presence of the Lord shone around them, and they were very afraid. And the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for look, I am bringing good news that will cause great joy to all people.read more.
For a Savior has been born today in David's city [i.e., Bethlehem], who is Christ the Lord [i.e., God's specially chosen one]. And this is the sign [that will verify it] to you: You will find a baby wrapped in [linen] cloths lying in an animal's feeding trough." Then suddenly there appeared with the angel a large number of the heavenly "army" [i.e., of angels], who were praising God and saying, "May there be glory to God in the highest [heavens], and may there be peace on earth among men who are pleasing to God." And it happened when the angels left them and returned to heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go to Bethlehem now and see what all happened that the Lord told us about." So, they went quickly and found both Mary and Joseph with the baby, lying in the animal's feeding trough. And when they saw this, they told [everyone] what the angel had said about this baby. And all who heard it marveled at the things the shepherds told them.

But the One [i.e., Jesus is referring to Himself] who enters [it] through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep [Note: "Sheep" in this section refers to Jesus' followers]. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep respond to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out [of the corral]. After he has let his own [sheep] out, he walks on ahead of them, and they follow him because they recognize his voice.

And He spoke many things to them in parables [i.e., brief stories to illustrate His teaching], saying, "Once a farmer went out [to his field] to plant grain. And some of the seed he sowed [i.e., scattering it by hand] landed along the side of the road and birds came and ate it. And other seed fell on rocky ground where there was not much soil and immediately it sprouted up because the soil was so shallow.read more.
But when the sun came up these tender sprouts were scorched and, since they had such tiny roots, they [quickly] withered away. And other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and [eventually] choked out the tender sprouts. And [still] other seed fell onto fertile soil, where some of it produced a crop of one hundred, some sixty and some thirty times [as much as was planted]. The person who has ears to hear with ought to listen [to this] carefully."

"Listen carefully A farmer went out to plant seed, and it happened, as he sowed [i.e., scattering the seed by hand], some of it fell by the side of the road and birds came and ate it. And some seed fell on rocky ground where there was not much soil, and immediately it sprouted up because the soil was so shallow.read more.
But when the sun came up the newly sprouted plants were scorched, and because they had no roots, [soon] withered away. And other seeds fell among thorns which grew up and choked them so that they yielded no crop. Then other seeds fell into fertile soil, and growing up to maturity, they yielded an ever increasing crop. They produced thirty, sixty and even a hundred times [as much as was planted]."

A farmer went out [to his field] to plant grain. And as he sowed [i.e., scattering seeds by hand], some of it landed along side of the road; it was stepped on by people and [eventually] birds of the sky came and ate it. And other [seed] fell on rocky ground and as soon as it started to grow, it [quickly] withered away, because it had no moisture. And other [seed] fell among thorns, which grew up with it and [eventually] choked out [the tender sprouts].read more.
And [still] other [seed] fell into fertile soil; it grew and produced a crop of one hundred times [as much as was planted]. As He said these things, He called out, "The person who has ears to hear with ought to listen [to this] carefully."

"Listen to another parable [i.e., a brief story used to illustrate His teaching]: There was the owner of a farm who planted a vineyard and built a fence around it. He constructed a grape squeezing device, built a [lookout] tower [near it], leased it to tenant farmers and then went to another country.

Jesus began speaking to them [i.e., to the leading priests and experts in the law of Moses (See 11:

Then Jesus began speaking to the people. [Note: And perhaps to the religious leaders as well. See Mark 11:18 with 12:1]. He told them this parable: "A man planted a vineyard, then leased it out to tenant farmers and went to another country for a long time.

[And] the farmer who works hard should be the first one to receive a share of the crops.

So, be patient, brothers, until the Lord comes. Look, the farmer waits for his land to produce the valuable crop and is patient with it until it receives the fall and spring rains.

When it became full, the fishermen dragged it up onto the shore. Then they sat down and, [sorting their catch], placed the good [i.e., edible fish] into containers, but threw out the bad [i.e., inedible ones].