'Works' in the Bible

You shall not bow down to worship their gods, nor serve them, nor do [anything] in accordance with their practices. You shall completely overthrow them and break down their [sacred] pillars and images [of pagan worship].

to make artistic designs for work in gold, in silver, and in bronze,

“For six days work may be done, but the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of complete rest to the Lord; whoever does any kind of work on that day shall be put to death.

Then Moses said, “By this you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works; for I do not act of my own accord.

‘O Lord God, You have only begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your mighty hand; for what god is there in heaven or on earth that can do such works and mighty acts (miracles) as Yours?

Seven days you shall celebrate a feast to the Lord your God in the place which the Lord chooses, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful.

Only the trees which you know are not fruit trees shall you destroy and cut down, so that you may build siegeworks against the city that is making war with you until it falls.

Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, and had known all the works of the Lord which He had done for Israel.

The people served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of the Lord which He had done for Israel.

But Gideon said to him, “Please my lord, if the Lord is with us, then why has all this happened to us? And where are all His wondrous works which our fathers told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian.”

Like all the deeds which they have done since the day that I brought them up from Egypt even to this day—in that they have abandoned (rejected) Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also.

Now in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he with all his army, against Jerusalem, and camped against it and built siege works surrounding it.

Sing to Him, sing praises to Him;Speak of all His wonders.

Declare His glory among the nations,His marvelous works among all peoples.

He had large supplies in the cities of Judah, and soldiers, courageous men, in Jerusalem.

Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the Lord has broken down what you have built.” So the ships were wrecked and were unable to go to Tarshish.

This same Hezekiah also stopped up the upper outlet of the waters of Gihon and channeled them down to the west side of the City of David. Hezekiah succeeded in everything that he did.

Because they have abandoned (rejected) Me and have burned incense to other gods, in order to provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands, My wrath will be poured out on this place and it will not be extinguished.”’

Remember, O My God, Tobiah and Sanballat in regard to these actions of theirs, and also [remember] the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who were trying to frighten me.

“But they, in their kingdom,With Your great goodness which You gave them,With the broad and rich land which You set before them,Did not serve You or turn from their wicked deeds.

“His troops come togetherAnd build up their way and siege works against meAnd camp around my tent.

To the left (north) He turns, but I cannot behold Him;He turns to the right hand (south), but I cannot see Him.

“Therefore He knows of their works,And He overthrows them in the night,So that they are crushed and destroyed.

“Listen to this, Job;Stand still and consider the wonders of God.

“Do you know about the layers of thick clouds [and how they are balanced and poised in the heavens],The wonderful works of Him who is perfect in knowledge,

“He is the first [in magnitude and power] of the works of God;[Only] He who made him can bring near His sword [to master him].

You made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;You have put all things under his feet,

I will give thanks and praise the Lord, with all my heart;I will tell aloud all Your wonders and marvelous deeds.

He who walks with integrity and strength of character, and works righteousness,And speaks and holds truth in his heart.

Concerning the deeds of men, by the word of Your lipsI have kept away from the paths of the violent.

That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgivingAnd declare all Your wonders.

Because they have no regard for the works of the LordNor the deeds of His hands,He will tear them down and not rebuild them.

Many, O Lord my God, are the wonderful works which You have done,And Your thoughts toward us;There is none to compare with You.If I would declare and speak of your wonders,They would be too many to count.

Come, behold the works of the Lord,Who has brought desolations and wonders on the earth.

Say to God, “How awesome and fearfully glorious are Your works!Because of the greatness of Your power Your enemies will pretend to be obedient to You.

Come and see the works of God,He is awesome in His deeds toward the children of men.

O God, You have taught me from my youth,And I still declare Your wondrous works and miraculous deeds.

But as for me, it is good for me to draw near to God;I have made the Lord God my refuge and placed my trust in Him,That I may tell of all Your works.

We give thanks and praise to You, O God, we give thanks,For Your [wonderful works declare that Your] name is near;People declare Your wonders.

I will meditate on all Your worksAnd thoughtfully consider all Your [great and wondrous] deeds.

We will not hide them from their children,But [we will] tell to the generation to come the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,And [tell of] His great might and power and the wonderful works that He has done.

That they should place their confidence in GodAnd not forget the works of God,But keep His commandments,

And they forgot His [incredible] worksAnd His miraculous wonders that He had shown them.

In spite of all this they still sinned,For they did not believe in His wonderful and extraordinary works.

There is no one like You among the gods, O Lord,Nor are there any works [of wonder and majesty] like Yours.

For You, O Lord, have made me glad by Your works;At the works of Your hands I joyfully sing.

Declare His glory among the nations,His marvelous works and wonderful deeds among all the peoples.

He who practices deceit will not dwell in my house;He who tells lies and half-truths will not continue [to remain] in my presence.

Bless the Lord, all you works of His, in all places of His dominion;Bless and affectionately praise the Lord, O my soul!

He waters the mountains from His upper chambers;The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works.

O Lord, how many and varied are Your works!In wisdom You have made them all;The earth is full of Your riches and Your creatures.

May the glory of the Lord endure forever;May the Lord rejoice and be glad in His works—

But they quickly forgot His works;They did not [patiently] wait for His counsel and purpose [to be revealed regarding them],

But they mingled with the [idolatrous] nationsAnd learned their ways,

In this way they became unclean in their practices;They played the prostitute in their own deeds [by giving their worship, which belongs to God alone, to other “gods”].

Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness,And for His wonderful acts to the children of men!

Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness,And for His wonderful acts to the children of men!

Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness,And for His wonderful acts to the children of men!

They have seen the works of the Lord,And His wonders in the deep.

Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness,And for His wonderful acts to the children of men!

Great are the works of the Lord,Studied by all those who delight in them.

He has made His wonderful acts to be remembered;The Lord is gracious and merciful and full of loving compassion.

He has declared and made known to His people the power of His works,In giving them the heritage of the nations.

The works of His hands are truth and [absolute] justice;All His precepts are sure (established, reliable, trustworthy).

I will not die, but live,And declare the works and recount the illustrious acts of the Lord.

Make me understand the way of Your precepts,So that I will meditate (focus my thoughts) on Your wonderful works.

The Lord will accomplish that which concerns me;Your [unwavering] lovingkindness, O Lord, endures forever—Do not abandon the works of Your own hands.

I will give thanks and praise to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;Wonderful are Your works,And my soul knows it very well.

One generation shall praise Your works to another,And shall declare Your mighty and remarkable acts.

On the glorious splendor of Your majestyAnd on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.

The Lord is good to all,And His tender mercies are over all His works [the entirety of things created].

All Your works shall give thanks to You and praise You, O Lord,And Your godly ones will bless You.

The Lord is [unwaveringly] righteous in all His waysAnd gracious and kind in all His works.

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

Better is he who is lightly esteemed and has a servant,Than he who [boastfully] honors himself [pretending to be what he is not] and lacks bread.

Commit your works to the Lord [submit and trust them to Him],And your plans will succeed [if you respond to His will and guidance].

The appetite of a worker works for him,For his hunger urges him on.

A happy heart is good medicine and a joyful mind causes healing,But a broken spirit dries up the bones.

If you [claim ignorance and] say, “See, we did not know this,”Does He not consider it who weighs and examines the hearts and their motives?And does He not know it who guards your life and keeps your soul?And will He not repay [you and] every man according to his works?

A lying tongue hates those it wounds and crushes,And a flattering mouth works ruin.

She looks for wool and flaxAnd works with willing hands in delight.

Give her of the product of her hands,And let her own works praise her in the gates [of the city].

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.

I made great works: I built houses for myself; I planted vineyards for myself;

So I have seen that there is nothing better than that a man should be happy in his own works and activities, for that is his portion (share). For who will bring him [back] to see what will happen after he is gone?

For I have taken all this to heart, exploring and examining it all, how the righteous (those in right standing with God) and the wise and their deeds are in the hands of God. No man knows whether it will be love or hatred; anything awaits him.

Go your way, eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a cheerful heart [if you are righteous, wise, and in the hands of God]; for God has already approved and accepted your works.

Now look at the land of the Chaldeans (Babylonia)—this is the people which was not; the Assyrians allocated Tyre for desert creatures—they set up their siege towers, they stripped its palaces, they made it a ruin.

Lord, You will establish peace for us,Since You have also performed for us all that we have done.

I will camp against you and encircle you,And I will hem you in with siege works,And I will raise fortifications against you.

“In fact, all of these [pagan prophets and priests] are false;Their works are worthless,Their cast images are [merely] wind and emptiness.

The ironsmith shapes iron and uses a chisel and works it over the coals. He forms the [idol’s] core with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He also becomes hungry and his strength fails; he drinks no water and grows tired.

Their webs will not serve as clothing,Nor will they cover themselves with what they make;Their works are works of wickedness [of sin, of injustice, of wrongdoing],And the act of violence is in their hands.

For from days of old no one has heard, nor has ear perceived,Nor has the eye seen a God besides You,Who works and acts in behalf of the one who [gladly] waits for Him.

You meet him who rejoices in doing that which is morally right,Who remembers You in Your ways.Indeed, You were angry, for we sinned;We have long continued in our sins [prolonging Your anger].And shall we be saved [under such circumstances]?

“Those who [vainly attempt to] sanctify and cleanse themselves to go to the gardens [to sacrifice to idols],Following after one in the center,Who eat swine’s flesh, detestable things and mice,Will come to an end together,” says the Lord.

“For I know their works and their thoughts. The time is coming to gather all nations and languages, and they will come and see My glory.

I will speak My judgments against them for all the wickedness of those who have abandoned (rejected) Me, offered sacrifices or burned incense to other gods, and worshiped the [idolatrous] works of their own hands.

“Please inquire of the Lord for us, because Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the Lord will deal [favorably] with us according to all His wonderful works and force him to withdraw from us.”

and do not go after other gods to serve them and to worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands, and I will do you no harm.’