Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. | Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ. |
Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. | Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed. |
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Let all that you do be done in love. | And do everything with love. |
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. | So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. |
The hand of the diligent will rule, while the slothful will be put to forced labor. | Work hard and become a leader; be lazy and become a slave. |
The blessing of the Lord makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it. | The blessing of the Lord makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow with it. |
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. | And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. |
I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man. | So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God. |
Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it. | Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows over time. |
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. | And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. |
Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands! | And may the Lord our God show us his approval and make our efforts successful. Yes, make our efforts successful! |
Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. | Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked so hard to achieve. Be diligent so that you receive your full reward. |
Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. | Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. |
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. | Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth. |
Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God. | And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God. |
Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? | Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? |
Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? | Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? |
Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. | Even so, I have noticed one thing, at least, that is good. It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun during the short life God has given them, and to accept their lot in life. |
Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man's envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind. | Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind. |
For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. | For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do. |
But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. | But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God. |
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. | All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. |
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. | I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. |
So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. | So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. |
Bondservants are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior. | Slaves must always obey their masters and do their best to please them. They must not talk back or steal, but must show themselves to be entirely trustworthy and good. Then they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive in every way. |