Bible Verses About Labor: General references

Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work;

but the seventh day is a sabbath unto Jehovah thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

for in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore Jehovah blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Thou shalt not oppress a hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy sojourners that are in thy land within thy gates:

in his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it (for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it); lest he cry against thee unto Jehovah, and it be sin unto thee.

For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that was a householder, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard.

And when he had agreed with the laborers for a shilling a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing in the marketplace idle;

and to them he said, Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way.

Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.

And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing; and he saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?

They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard.

And when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the laborers, and pay them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.

And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a shilling.

And when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received every man a shilling.

And when they received it, they murmured against the householder,

saying, These last have spent but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.

But he answered and said to one of them, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a shilling?

Take up that which is thine, and go thy way; it is my will to give unto this last, even as unto thee.

Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? or is thine eye evil, because I am good?

and that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your hands, even as we charged you;

that ye may walk becomingly toward them that are without, and may have need of nothing.

For yourselves know how ye ought to imitate us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you;

neither did we eat bread for nought at any man’s hand, but in labor and travail, working night and day, that we might not burden any of you:

not because we have not the right, but to make ourselves an ensample unto you, that ye should imitate us.