85 Bible Verses about Occupations

Unless LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. Unless LORD guards the city, the watchman wake but in vain.

The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner.

Jesus says to them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone that those who build rejected, this came to be in the head of the corner. This happened from Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes?

And have ye not read this scripture: The stone that those who build rejected, this came to be into the head of the corner.

But having looked upon them, he said, What then is this that is written, The stone that those who build rejected, this became the head of the corner?

This is the stone that was rejected by you who build, which became into the head of the corner.

According to the grace of God that was given to me, as a wise master builder, I laid a foundation and another man is building on it. But let each man take heed how he is building on it. For no man can lay another foundation besides that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. And if any man builds upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,read more.
each man's work will become manifest. For the day will make it known, because it is revealed by fire. And the fire will test each man's work of what kind it is. If any man's work that he built on will remain, he will receive benefit. If any man's work will be burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, but so as through fire.

For this man was considered worthy of more glory than Moses, by so much as he who built it has more esteem than the house.

To you therefore who believe is the preciousness, but for men who disobey, A stone that the builders rejected, this became the head of the corner,

And with him was Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver, and a skilful workman, and an embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and in scarlet, and in fine linen.

And he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue.

She lays her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.

and to the masons and the hewers of stone, and for buying timber and hewn stone to repair the broken parts of the house of LORD, and for all that was laid out for the house to repair it.

And let them deliver it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of LORD. And let them give it to the workmen who are in the house of LORD, to repair the broken parts of the house, to the carpenters, and to the builders, and to the masons, and for buying timber and hewn stone to repair the house.

Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary, and his brothers, James and Joses and Simon and Judas?

So the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, [were appointed] with cymbals of brass to sound aloud. And Zechariah, and Aziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, and Eliab, and Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with psalteries set to Alamoth. And Mattithiah, and Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah, and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, and Azaziah, with harps set to the Sheminith, to lead.read more.
And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was over the song. He instructed about the song because he was skilful.

And with them Heman and Jeduthun [with] trumpets and cymbals for those who should sound aloud, and [with] instruments for the songs of God, and the sons of Jeduthun to be at the gate.

LORD, the Lord, is my strength. And he makes my feet like hinds' [feet], and will make me to walk upon my high places.

And it came to pass for him to remain considerable days at Joppa with a certain Simon, a tanner.

This man lodges with a certain Simon, a tanner, whose house is beside the seaside.

The sons of Shelah the son of Judah: Er the father of Lecah, and Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the families of the house of those who worked fine linen, of the house of Ashbea;

Then LORD said to Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shear-jashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, in the highway of the fuller's field.

And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rab-saris and Rabshakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great army to Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they came up, they came and stood by the conduit of the

And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem to king Hezekiah with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field.

The smith [makes] an axe, and works in the coals, and fashions it with hammers, and works it with his strong arm. Yea, he is hungry, and his strength fails. He drinks no water, and is faint.

Now there was no blacksmith found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make for them swords or spears, but all the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen every man his share, and his coulter, and his axe, and his mattock. Yet they had a file for the mattocks, and for the coulters, and for the forks, and for the axes, and to set the goads.

Behold, I have created the smith who blows the fire of coals, and brings forth a weapon for his work. And I have created the waster to destroy.

After him Malchijah one of the goldsmiths to the house of the Nethinim, and of the merchants, repaired opposite the gate of Hammiphkad, and to the ascent of the corner. And between the ascent of the corner and the sheep gate the goldsmiths and the merchants repaired.

Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred sixty and six talents of gold, besides [that which] the traders [brought], and the traffic of the merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the governors of the country.

And the horses which Solomon had were brought out of Egypt. The king's merchants received them in herds, each herd at a price. And they went after and brought out of Egypt a chariot for six hundred [shekels] of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. And so they brought them out by their means for all the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of Syria.

And it came to pass that, when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the Sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut, and commanded that they should not be opened till after the Sabbath. And I set some of my servant So the merchants and sellers of all kind of wares lodged without Jerusalem once or twice. Then I testified against them, and said to them, Why do ye lodge around the wall? If ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth they came no more on the Sabbath.

[He is] a Canaanite. The balances of deceit are in his hand. He loves to oppress.

Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a man, a merchant, seeking fine pearls. Who, having found one very valuable pearl, after departing, sold all, as many things as he had, and bought it.

And after these things Paul having separated from Athens, he came to Corinth. And having found a certain Jew named Aquila, a man of Pontus by origin, who recently came from Italy, and his wife Priscilla, because Claudius arranged for all the Jews to separate from Rome, he came to them. And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and was working, for they were of the tentmakers craft.

Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable, because by him LORD had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, [but he was] a leper.

And upon his entering into Capernaum, a centurion came to him, beseeching him, and saying, Lord, my boy has been laid down in the house, paralyzed, extremely tormented. And Jesus says to him, after coming I will heal him.read more.
And having answered, the centurion said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou should come under my roof, but only speak the word, and my boy will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under myself. And I say to this man, Go, and he goes, and to another, Come, and he comes, and to my bondman, Do this, and he does it. And when Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to those who followed, Truly I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith. And I say to you, that many will come from east and west, and will sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of the heavens, but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness. There will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said to the centurion, Go thou. And as thou have believed, be it done to thee. And his boy was healed in that hour.

And when he completed all his sayings in the ears of the people, he entered into Capernaum. And a certain centurion's bondman faring badly was going to perish, who was esteemed by him. And having heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to him who asked him that, having come, he would save his bondman.read more.
And when they came to Jesus they urged him earnestly, saying, He is worthy for whom thou may offer this, for he loves our nation, and he himself built the synagogue for us. And Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far distant from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying to him, Lord, be not troubled, for I am not worthy that thou should come under my roof. Therefore neither did I consider myself worthy to come to thee, but speak by word, and my boy will be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, having soldiers under myself. And I say to this man, Go, and he goes, and to another, Come, and he comes, and to my bondman, Do this, and he does. And when Jesus heard these things, he marveled him, and having turned around to the multitude who followed him, he said, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith. And those who were sent, having returned to the house, found the bondman who was feeble, being well.

And men who were soldiers also questioned him, saying, And we, what should we do? And he said to them, Do violence to no man, nor accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.

Now a certain man was in Caesarea, Cornelius by name, a centurion of the band called Italian, a devout man, and fearing God with all his house, and doing many charities for the people, and beseeching God always. He saw plainly in a vision about the ninth hour of the day, an agent of God coming in to him, and saying to him, Cornelius.read more.
And after gazing at him, and having become afraid, he said, What is it, Lord? And he said to him, Thy prayers and thy charities have come up for a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa and summon Simon, who is surnamed Peter. This man lodges with a certain Simon, a tanner, whose house is beside the seaside. And when the heavenly agent speaking to Cornelius departed, having called two of his housemen, and a devout soldier of those who personally served him, and after reporting all things to them, he sent them to Joppa.

Thou therefore endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man who serves in the military entangles himself in the affairs of life, so that he may please the man who enlisted the army.

And to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Aseneth, the daughter of Poti-phera, priest of On, bore to him. {And there were sons born to Manasseh, whom the Syrian concubine bore to him, [even] Machir. An

And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine. And he was priest of God Most High.

Now Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, how that LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt.

And thou shall speak to all who are wise-hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron's garments to sanctify him, that he may minister to me in the priest's office.

And thou shall put upon Aaron the holy garments, and thou shall anoint him, and sanctify him, that he may minister to me in the priest's office.

And Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah. Then Micah said, Now I know that LORD will do me good, seeing I have a Levite for my priest.

And there came a man of God to Eli, and said to him, Thus says LORD, Did I reveal myself to the house of thy father when they were in Egypt [in bondage] to Pharaoh's house? And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? And did I give to the house of thy father all the offerings of the sons of Israel made by fire Why do ye kick at my sacrifice and at my offering, which I have commanded in [my] habitation, and honor thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chief of all the offerings of Israel my people?

And these were the rulers whom he had: Azariah the son of Zadok, the priest; Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder; and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the army; and Zadok and Abiathar were priests;read more.
and Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers; and Zabud the son of Nathan was chief minister, [and] the king's friend;

For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth. For he is the messenger of LORD of hosts.

And Jesus says to him, See thou speak to no man, but go, show thyself to the priest, and bring the gift that Moses commanded for a testimony to them.

but appoint thou the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, and over all the furniture of it, and over all that belongs to it. They shall bear the tabernacle, and all the furniture of it, and they shall minister to it, and s And when the tabernacle sets forward, the Levites shall take it down, and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up. And the stranger who comes near shall be put to death.

And David spoke to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brothers the singers, with instruments of music, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding aloud and lifting up the voice with joy.

And he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of LORD, and to celebrate and to thank and praise LORD, the God of Israel:

So the priests, and the Levites, and some of the people, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinim, dwelt in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.

And on that day men were appointed over the chambers for the treasures, for the heave-offerings, for the first-fruits, and for the tithes, to gather into them, according to the fields of the cities, the portions appointed by the la And they kept the charge of their God, and the charge of the purification, and [also] the singers and the porters, according to the commandment of David, and of Solomon his son. For in the days of David and Asaph of old there was a chief of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.read more.
And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel, and in the days of Nehemiah, gave the portions of the singers and the porters as every day required. And they set apart [that which was] for the Levites, and the Levites set apart [that whi

And likewise also a Levite who happened upon the place, having come, and having looked, passed by on the other side.

Now David was sitting between the two gates. And the watchman went up to the roof of the gate to the wall, and lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, a man running alone. And the watchman cried, and told the king. And the king said, If he is alone, there is news in his mouth. And he came apace, and drew near. And the watchman saw another man running. And the watchman called to the porter, and said, Behold, [another] man running alone. And the king said, He also brings news.read more.
And the watchman said, I think the running of the foremost is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok. And the king said, He is a good man, and comes with good news.

The burden of Dumah. He calls to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? The watchman said, The morning comes, and also the night. If ye will inquire, inquire ye; turn ye back, come.

His watchmen are blind. They are all without knowledge. They are all mute dogs. They cannot bark, dreaming, laying down, loving to slumber.

Son of man, speak to the sons of thy people, and say to them, When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and set him for their watchman, if, when he sees the sword come upon the land, he blows the trumpet, and warns the people, then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet, and takes no warning, if the sword comes, and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.read more.
He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took no warning; his blood shall be upon him. Whereas if he had taken warning, he would have delivered his soul. But if the watchman sees the sword come, and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes, and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity, but I will require his blood at the

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter in by the door into the fold of the sheep, but goes up some other way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens to this man. And the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out.

And Pharaoh said to his brothers, What is your occupation? And they said to Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and our fathers.

Then Jacob went on his journey, and came to the land of the sons of the east. And he looked, and, behold, a well in the field. And, lo, three flocks of sheep were laying there by it, for they watered the flocks out of that well. And the stone upon the well's mouth was great. And all the flocks were gathered there. And they rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again upon the well's mouth in its place.read more.
And Jacob said to them, My brothers, where are ye from? And they said, We are of Haran. And he said to them, Do ye know Laban the son of Nahor? And they said, We know him. And he said to them, Is it well with him? And they said, It is well. And, behold, Rachel his daughter comes with the sheep. And he said, Lo, it is yet high day, neither is it time that the cattle should be gathered together. Water ye the sheep, and go and feed them. And they said, We cannot until all the flocks be gathered together, and they roll the stone from the well's mouth. Then we water the sheep. While he was yet speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she kept them. And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban hi

And Joseph said to his brothers, and to his father's house, I will go up, and tell Pharaoh, and will say to him, My brothers, and my father's house, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. And the men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of cattle, and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have. And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What is your occupation?read more.
that ye shall say, Thy servants have been keepers of cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and our fathers, that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.

Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. And they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. And the shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.

And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the place of the wagons as the army which was going forth to the fight shouted for the battle.

Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before LORD. And his name was Doeg the Edomite, the foremost of the herdsmen who belonged to Saul.

The words of Amos, who was among the herdsmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

And there were shepherds in the same region living in the fields, and keeping watch by night over their flock. And behold, an agent of Lord stood near them, and the glory of Lord shone around them. And they feared a great fear. And the agent said to them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good-news of great joy that will be to all the people,read more.
because to you was born today in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ Lord. And this is the sign to you: Ye will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a feed trough. And suddenly there came to be with the agent a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill among men. And it came to pass, as the agents went away from them into heaven, that the men (the shepherds) said to each other, Let us indeed go through as far as Bethlehem, and see this declaration that has come to pass, which the Lord made And having hastened, they came and found both Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in the feed trough. And when they saw it, they informed about the declaration that was told them about this child. And all who heard it wondered about the things that were spoken to them by the shepherds.

But he who enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens to this man. And the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out. And when he puts forth his own sheep, he goes before them. And the sheep follow him because they know his voice.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed each one of his vision, when he prophesies, nor shall they wear a hairy mantle to deceive. But he shall say, I am no prophet. I am a tiller of the ground, for I have been made a bondman from my youth.

Does he who plows to sow plow continually? Does he [continually] open and harrow his ground? When he has leveled the face of it, does he not cast abroad the chick-peas, and scatter the cummin, and put in the wheat in rows, and the barley in the appointed place, and the spelt in the border of it?

Again thou shall plant vineyards upon the mountains of Samaria. The planters shall plant, and shall enjoy [it].

Be confounded, O ye husbandmen. Wail, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley, for the harvest of the field is perished.

And he spoke many things to them in parables, saying, Behold, the man who sows went forth to sow. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured them. But others fell upon the rocky places, where they had not much soil, and straightaway they sprang up because they had no depth of soil.read more.
But when the sun was risen, they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered. And others fell in the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. But others fell upon the good ground, and yielded fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.

Listen. Behold, the man who sows went forth to sow. And it came to pass during the sowing, some fell by the path, and the birds came and devoured it. And others fell on the rocky ground where it had not much soil. And straightaway it sprang up, because it had no depth of soil.read more.
And when the sun was risen it was scorched, and because it had no root it dried out. And others fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it gave no fruit. And others fell into the good ground and gave fruit, coming up and increasing, and brought forth, one thirty, and one sixty, and one a hundred.

The man who sows went forth to sow his seed. And during his sowing, some fell by the way, and it was trampled, and the birds of the sky devoured it. And another fell on the rock, and having grown, it withered away because of not having moisture. And another fell amidst the thorns, and having grown together, the thorns choked it.read more.
And another fell on the good ground, and having grown it produced fruit a hundredfold. As he said these things, he called out, He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Hear ye another parable. There was a certain man who was a house-ruler, who planted a vineyard, and placed a hedge around it, and dug a winepress in it, and built a tower, and leased it to farmers, and went on a journey.

And he began to speak to them in parables. A man planted a vineyard, and set up a hedge, and dug a winevat, and built a tower, and leased it to farmers, and went on a journey.

And he began to speak this parable to the people. A man planted a vineyard, and leased it to farmers, and went abroad for a considerable time.

The farmer who labors must be the first to partake of the fruits.

Be patient therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient for it, until it receives the early and latter rain.

which, when it was full, after dragging to the shore, having sat down, they gathered the good into vessels, but they cast out the useless.

And the fishermen shall lament, and all those who cast a hook into the Nile shall mourn, and those who spread nets upon the waters shall languish.