If the Lord does not build the house, those who construct it labor in vain. If the Lord does not guard the city, those who keep watch over it do so in vain.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, stand firm and immovable, devoting yourselves completely to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Just as he came forth naked from his mother’s womb, so shall he depart, naked as he came, with nothing remaining from his labor that he can carry away in his hands.
You shall observe the Sabbath by keeping it holy, as the Lord, your God, has commanded you. You are to labor on six days, doing all of your work then. The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord, your God. You shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your ox, nor your ass, nor your cattle, nor even the foreigner living in your town. Thus your manservant and maidservant can rest as well.
I understand that man’s greatest happiness is to be glad and do well throughout his life. And when we eat and drink and find satisfaction in all our labors, this is a gift of God.
Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath in honor of the Lord your God. You shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male slave, nor your female slave, nor your animals, nor the foreigner who dwells with you. The Lord made the heavens and the earth and the seas and that which is in them in six days, but he rested the seventh day. Thus, the Lord blessed the Sabbath and declared it to be sacred.
This is the conclusion I have reached: it is fitting for a man to eat and drink and find satisfaction in the results of his labors under the sun during the brief span of life that God has allotted him.
For God would not be so unjust as to ignore your work and the love that you have shown for his name by the services you have rendered to the saints and still continue to render.
The Lord God said, “Behold, man has become like one of us, for he has knowledge of that which is good and that which is evil. Now, we must prevent him from reaching out and taking the fruit of the tree of life lest he eat it and live forever.” The Lord God cast him out of the Garden of Eden; henceforth he was to labor tilling the soil from which he had come.
Moreover, the one to whom God grants wealth and possessions and the ability to enjoy them and to find contentment in his toil receives a gift from God.
Even though the fig tree does not blossom and there is no fruit on the vines, even though the olive crop will fail and the orchards will yield no food, even though the flock is cut off from the fold and there is no herd in the stalls, I will continue to rejoice in the Lord, and exult in the God of my salvation.
Therefore, a Sabbath rest still remains for the people of God, since those who enter into God’s rest also cease from their own labors as God did from his.
Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.
For this reason, I rejoice when I endure weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and distress for the sake of Christ. For it is when I am weak that I am strong.