44 Bible Verses about Success And Hard Work

The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance and advantage,
But everyone who acts in haste comes surely to poverty.

In all labor there is profit,
But mere talk leads only to poverty.

I have seen that every [effort in] labor and every skill in work comes from man’s rivalry with his neighbor. This too is vanity (futility, false pride) and chasing after the wind.

One hand full of rest and patience is better than two fists full of labor and chasing after the wind.

Poor is he who works with a negligent and idle hand,
But the hand of the diligent makes him rich.

If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength; but wisdom [to sharpen the axe] helps him succeed [with less effort].

Do you see a man skillful and experienced in his work?
He will stand [in honor] before kings;
He will not stand before obscure men.

But as for you, be strong and do not lose courage, for there is reward for your work.”

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) where you are going.

The hand of the diligent will rule,
But the negligent and lazy will be put to forced labor.

There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and assure himself that there is good in his labor. Even this, I have seen, is from the hand of God.

Two are better than one because they have a more satisfying return for their labor;

Sow your seed in the morning and do not be idle with your hands in the evening, for you do not know whether morning or evening planting will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both alike will be good.

So I hated all the fruit (gain) of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will succeed me.

“He frustrates the devices and schemes of the crafty,
So that their hands cannot attain success or achieve anything of [lasting] worth.

It is vain for you to rise early,
To retire late,
To eat the bread of anxious labors—
For He gives [blessings] to His beloved even in his sleep.

The blessing of the Lord brings [true] riches,
And He adds no sorrow to it [for it comes as a blessing from God].

“Strive to enter through the narrow door [force aside unbelief and the attractions of sin]; for many, I tell you, will try to enter [by their own works] and will not be able.

He who plants and he who waters are one [in importance and esteem, working toward the same purpose]; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

For what does a man get from all his labor and from the striving and sorrow of his heart with which he labors under the sun?

The Lord was with Joseph, and he [even though a slave] became a successful and prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian.

For there is a man who has labored with wisdom and knowledge and skill, yet gives his legacy to one who has not labored for it. This too is vanity and a great evil.

Seek peace and well-being for the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its peace (well-being) you will have peace.’

Good understanding wins favor [from others],
But the way of the unfaithful is hard [like barren, dry soil].

They made their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar, brick, and all kinds of field work. All their labor was harsh and severe.

For you shall eat the fruit of [the labor of] your hands,
You will be happy and blessed and it will be well with you.

For the dream comes through much effort, and the voice of the fool through many words.

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.

Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace].

Then I said, “I have labored in vain,
I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity (pride, uselessness);
However My justice is with the Lord,
And My reward is with My God.”

I sent you to reap [a crop] for which you have not worked. Others have worked and you have been privileged to reap the results of their work.”

Simon replied, “Master, we worked hard all night [to the point of exhaustion] and caught nothing [in our nets], but at Your word I will [do as you say and] lower the nets [again].”

You crown the year with Your bounty,
And Your paths overflow.

Every work which he began in the service of the house of God in keeping with the law and the commandment, seeking and inquiring of his God [and longing for Him], he did with all his heart and prospered.

And it will be in the day when the Lord gives you rest from your pain and turmoil and from the harsh service in which you have been enslaved,

And let endurance have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed [in your faith], lacking in nothing.

but if it is of God [and it appears that it is], you will not be able to stop them; or else you may even be found fighting against God!”

A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children,
And the wealth of the sinner is stored up for [the hands of] the righteous.

Obey your [spiritual] leaders and submit to them [recognizing their authority over you], for they are keeping watch over your souls and continually guarding your spiritual welfare as those who will give an account [of their stewardship of you]. Let them do this with joy and not with grief and groans, for this would be of no benefit to you.

And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one [unified] people, and they all have the same language. This is only the beginning of what they will do [in rebellion against Me], and now no evil thing they imagine they can do will be impossible for them.

The elders who perform their leadership duties well are to be considered worthy of double honor (financial support), especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching [the word of God concerning eternal salvation through Christ].

Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces and your forehead as hard as their foreheads.

“When you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf [of grain] in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the stranger, for the orphan, and for the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.

In the way of righteousness is life,
And in its pathway there is no death [but immortality—eternal life].