'Idle' in the Bible

But the number of bricks which they were making before, you shall [still] require of them; you are not to reduce it in the least. For they are idle and lazy; that is why they cry, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’

But Pharaoh said, “You are lazy, very lazy and idle! That is why you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’

From men with Your hand, O Lord,From men of the world [these moths of the night] whose portion [of enjoyment] is in this life—idle and vain,And whose belly You fill with Your treasure;They are satisfied with children,And they leave what they have left [of wealth] to their children.

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

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

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

Therefore, remove sorrow and anger from your heart and put away pain from your body, for childhood and the prime of life are fleeting.

“If you turn back your foot from [unnecessary travel on] the Sabbath,From doing your own pleasure on My holy day,And call the Sabbath a [spiritual] delight, and the holy day of the Lord honorable,And honor it, not going your own wayOr engaging in your own pleasureOr speaking your own [idle] words,

Who improvise to the sound of the harp—Like David they have composed songs for themselves—

But I tell you, on the day of judgment people will have to give an accounting for every careless or useless word they speak.

And he went out about the third hour (9:00 a.m.) and saw others standing idle in the market place;

And about the eleventh hour (5:00 p.m.) he went out and found others standing around, and he said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’

“But his master answered him, ‘You wicked, lazy servant, you knew that I reap [the harvest] where I did not sow and gather where I did not scatter seed.

But their report seemed to them like idle talk and nonsense, and they would not believe them.

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception [pseudo-intellectual babble], according to the tradition [and musings] of mere men, following the elementary principles of this world, rather than following [the truth—the teachings of] Christ.

For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined or inappropriate manner when we were with you [we were never idle or lazy, nor did we avoid our duties],

But avoid all irreverent babble and godless chatter [with its profane, empty words], for it will lead to further ungodliness,

For there are many rebellious men who are empty talkers [just windbags] and deceivers; especially those of the circumcision [those Jews who insist that Gentile believers must be circumcised and keep the Law in order to be saved].

One of them [Epimenides, a Cretan], a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”

Our people must learn to do good deeds to meet necessary demands [whatever the occasion may require], so that they will not be unproductive.

For as these qualities are yours and are increasing [in you as you grow toward spiritual maturity], they will keep you from being useless and unproductive in regard to the true knowledge and greater understanding of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And in their greed they will exploit you with false arguments and twisted doctrine. Their sentence [of condemnation which God has decreed] from a time long ago is not idle [but is still in force], and their destruction and deepening misery is not asleep [but is on its way].