16 Bible Verses about Work, And The Fall

Then to Adam the Lord God said, “Because you have listened [attentively] to the voice of your wife, and have eaten [fruit] from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’;

The ground is [now] under a curse because of you;
In sorrow and toil you shall eat [the fruit] of it
All the days of your life.

“Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you;
And you shall eat the plants of the field.

“By the sweat of your face
You will eat bread
Until you return to the ground,
For from it you were taken;
For you are dust,
And to dust you shall return.”

He named him Noah, saying, “This one shall bring us rest and comfort from our work and from the [dreadful] toil of our hands because of the ground which the Lord cursed.”

‘You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measurement of weight or quantity.

“You shall not have in your bag inaccurate weights, a heavy and a light [so you can cheat others].

A merchant, in whose hand are false and fraudulent balances;
He loves to oppress and exploit.

So they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with hard labor. And the sons of Israel built Pithom and Raamses as storage cities for Pharaoh. But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more they multiplied and expanded, so that the Egyptians dreaded and were exasperated by the Israelites. And the Egyptians made the Israelites serve rigorously [forcing them into severe slavery]. read more.
They made their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar, brick, and all kinds of field work. All their labor was harsh and severe.

“Your father made our yoke (burden) heavy; so now lighten the hard labor and the heavy yoke your father imposed on us, and we will serve you.”

Go to the ant, O lazy one;
Observe her ways and be wise,

Which, having no chief,
Overseer or ruler,

She prepares her food in the summer
And brings in her provisions [of food for the winter] in the harvest.
read more.

How long will you lie down, O lazy one?
When will you arise from your sleep [and learn self-discipline]?

“Yet a little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to lie down and rest”—

So your poverty will come like an approaching prowler who walks [slowly, but surely]
And your need [will come] like an armed man [making you helpless].

The soul (appetite) of the lazy person craves and gets nothing [for lethargy overcomes ambition],
But the soul (appetite) of the diligent [who works willingly] is rich and abundantly supplied.

Laziness casts one into a deep sleep [unmindful of lost opportunity],
And the idle person will suffer hunger.

I went by the field of the lazy man,
And by the vineyard of the man lacking understanding and common sense;

And, behold, it was all overgrown with thorns,
And nettles were covering its surface,
And its stone wall was broken down.

When I saw, I considered it well;
I looked and received instruction.
read more.

“Yet a little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest [and daydream],”

Then your poverty will come as a robber,
And your want like an armed man.

For even while we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either. Indeed, we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined and inappropriate life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies [meddling in other people’s business].

Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you are doing is not good. You will certainly wear out both yourself and these people who are with you, because the task is too heavy for you [to bear]; you cannot do it alone.

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.

But the Lord replied to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered and anxious about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part [that which is to her advantage], which will not be taken away from her.”

Then He said to them, “Watch out and guard yourselves against every form of greed; for not even when one has an overflowing abundance does his life consist of nor is it derived from his possessions.” Then He told them a parable, saying, “There was a rich man whose land was very fertile and productive. And he began thinking to himself, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place [large enough in which] to store my crops?’ read more.
Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my storehouses and build larger ones, and I will store all my grain and my goods there. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many good things stored up, [enough] for many years; rest and relax, eat, drink and be merry (celebrate continually).”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own all the things you have prepared?’ So it is for the one who continues to store up and hoard possessions for himself, and is not rich [in his relationship] toward God.”