'Work' in the Bible

For the customs and decrees of the peoples are [mere] delusion [exercises in futility];It is only wood which one cuts from the forest [to make a god],The work of the hands of the craftsman with the axe or cutting tool.

“They are like scarecrows in a cucumber field;They cannot speak;They have to be carried,Because they cannot walk!Do not be afraid of them,For they can do no harm or evil,Nor can they do any good.”

Silver that has been beaten [into plates] is brought from Tarshish,And gold from Uphaz,The work of the craftsman and of the hand of the goldsmith;Violet and purple are their clothing;They are all the work of skilled men.

They are worthless and devoid of promise, a work of delusion and mockery;In their time of [trial and] punishment they will perish [without hope].

“O Lord, though our many sins testify against us” [prays Jeremiah],“Act now [for us and] for Your name’s sake [so that the faithless may witness Your faithfulness]!For our backslidings are countless;We have sinned against You.

You shall not carry a load out of your houses on the Sabbath day nor do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy [by setting it apart as a day of worship], as I commanded your fathers.

But it will come about, if you listen diligently to Me,” says the Lord, “to bring no load in through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but keep the Sabbath day holy by doing no work on it,

“Woe (judgment is coming) to him who builds his house by [acts of] unrighteousnessAnd his upper chambers by injustice,Who uses his neighbor’s service without payAnd does not give him wages [for his work],

(For many nations and great kings will make slaves of them, even the Chaldeans [who enslaved other nations]; and I will repay [all of] them according to their deeds and according to the work of their [own] hands.)’”

For behold, I am beginning to work disaster in the city which is called by My Name, and shall you go unpunished? You will not be exempt from punishment, for I am calling for a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth,” says the Lord of hosts.’

Thus says the Lord,“Restrain your voice from weepingAnd your eyes from tears,For your work will be rewarded,” says the Lord;“And your children will return from the enemy’s land.

For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done only evil in My sight from their youth; for the children of Israel have been provoking Me to anger by the [idols that are the] work of their hands,” says the Lord.

“Cursed is the one who does the work of the Lord negligently,And cursed is the one who restrains his sword from blood [in executing the judgment of the Lord].

The Lord has opened His armoryAnd has brought out [the nations who unknowingly are] the weapons of His indignation (wrath),For it is a work of the Lord God of hostsIn the land of the Chaldeans.

The Lord has brought about our vindication and has revealed the righteousness of our cause;Come and let us proclaim in ZionThe work of the Lord our God!

They are worthless (empty, false, futile), a work of delusion and worthy of derision;In the time of their inspection and punishment they will perish.