Whatever you do, do it wholeheartedly, as if you were doing it for the Lord and not for others, since you know that you will receive from the Lord an inheritance as your reward for you are serving the Lord Christ. | Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. |
Entrust everything that you do to the Lord, and your plans will turn out to be successful. | Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. |
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Everything that you do should be done in love. | Do everything in love. |
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. | Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. |
Authority will be granted to the diligent, but the lazy will be enslaved. | Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor. |
The blessing of the Lord is what brings wealth, and our toil adds nothing to it. | The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, without painful toil for 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, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. |
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. | I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. |
Wealth hastily acquired will dwindle away, but when amassed little by little, it will increase. | Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow. |
And God is able to enrich you with an abundance of every grace, so that, with all of your needs provided for, you may be able to produce a surplus of good works. | And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. |
May the favor of the Lord, our God, rest upon us. And may the work of our hands prosper— indeed, may the work of our hands prosper. | May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands. |
Be on your guard that you do not lose what we have worked to accomplish so that you will receive your reward in full. | Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. |
Two are better than one: they earn a far greater reward for their toil. | Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. |
Make every effort to present yourself before God as one who is worthy of his approval, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, but who imparts the word of truth without any alteration. | Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. |
Gaze upon the birds in the sky. They do not sow or reap or store in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of far greater value than they? | Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? |
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. | Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. |
Now who is going to harm you if you are eager to do what is right? | Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? |
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. | This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot. |
Then I came to realize that all toil and skill in work derive from one person’s envy of another. This also is vanity and a chase after the wind. | And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. |
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. | God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. |
As for me, I do not regard my life as of any value, only that I finish the race and complete the mission that I received from the Lord Jesus—to bear witness to the gospel of God’s grace. | However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace. |
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in uprightness, so that the man of God may be proficient and equipped for good work of every kind. | All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. |
Amen, amen, I say to you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do, and indeed will do even greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father. | Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. |
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. | There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. |
Exhort slaves to be submissive to their masters and to give them satisfaction in every respect. They are not to talk back to them, nor are they to steal from them. Rather, they should show themselves to be completely trustworthy so that in every way they may add luster to the doctrine of God our Savior. | Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive. |