85 Bible Verses about Occupations

Unless Yahweh builds a house, its builders labor at it in vain. Unless Yahweh guards a city, a guard watches in vain.

[The] stone the builders rejected has become [the] chief cornerstone.

Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures, 'The stone which the builders rejected, this has become {the cornerstone}. This came about from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?

Have you not read this scripture: 'The stone which the builders rejected, this has become {the cornerstone}.

But he looked intently at them [and] said, "What then is this that is written: 'The stone which the builders rejected, this has become {the cornerstone}.'

This one is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, that has become {the cornerstone}.

According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon [it]. But each one must direct his attention to how he is building upon [it]. For no one is able to lay another foundation than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds upon the foundation [with] gold, silver, precious stones, wood, grass, straw,read more.
the work of each one will become evident. For the day will reveal [it], because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the work of each one, of what sort it is. If anyone's work that he has built upon [it] remains, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, but so as through fire.

For this one is considered worthy of greater glory than Moses, inasmuch as the one who builds it has greater honor than the house.

Therefore the honor [is] for you who believe, but for those who refuse to believe, "The stone that the builders rejected, this one has become {the cornerstone},"

And with him [was] Oholiab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan, a skilled craftsman and a designer and an embroiderer with the blue and with the purple and with the crimson [yarns] and with the linen.

And he made the robe of the ephod, weaver's work, totally of blue [yarn].

Her hands she puts onto the distaff, and her palms hold a spindle.

and to the masons and the stonecutters, to buy timber and stones for hewing, in order to repair the damage of the temple of Yahweh, and for all who went to the temple to repair it.

and let them give it into the hand of those appointed doers of the work at the temple of Yahweh. Let them give it to the doers of the work who [are] at the temple of Yahweh to repair the breach of the temple: to the skilled craftsmen, to the builders, to the masons, and to buy timber and hewing stones to repair the temple.

Is not this one the son of the carpenter? Is not his mother called Mary and his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?

Now the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, [were] to sound bronze cymbals; Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah [were to play] on harps according to Alamoth; and Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah [were to play] lyres, directing according to the Sheminith.read more.
And Kenaniah, chief of the Levites in singing, [was to be] an instructor in singing because he understood.

And Heman and Jeduthun with them [had] trumpets and cymbals for making music, along with instruments for the song of God. And the sons of Jeduthun [were] at the gate.

Yahweh, my Lord, [is] my strength; he makes my feet like the deer; he causes me to walk on my high places. To the choirmaster with stringed instruments.

And it happened that [he] stayed many days in Joppa with a certain Simon, a tanner.

This man is staying as a guest with a certain Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea."

The sons of Shelah, the son of Judah: Er the father of Lecah, Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the families of the house of linen workers at Beth Ashbea;

Then Yahweh said to Isaiah, "Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-Jashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on [the] highway of [the] washer's field.

So the king of Assyria sent the commander in chief, the chief eunuch, and the {chief advisor} from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem with a heavy army. They went up and came [to] Jerusalem, then they went up and came and stood at the aqueduct of the upper pool which is on the main road of the {washer's} field.

And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem, to King Hezekiah, with a large army, and he stood by the conduit of the upper pool on [the] highway of [the] field of [the] washer.

[The] {ironsmith} works in the coals [with his] tool and forms it with hammers. And he makes it with {his strong arm}; indeed, he becomes hungry, and {he lacks} strength; he does not drink water, and he is faint.

Now no skilled craftsman could be found in all the land of Israel, for [the] Philistines had said, "So that the Hebrews cannot make swords or spears for themselves." So all Israel [went] down to [the] Philistines, each to have his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, and his iron plowshare sharpened. The charge was {two-thirds of a shekel} for the plowshare and for the mattock, and {a third of a shekel for the pick} and for the axe, and to set the goading sticks.

Look! I myself have created [the] craftsman who blows [the] fire [of] coals, and who produces a weapon for his work; also I myself have created [the] destroyer to destroy.

After him Malkijah, {one of the goldsmiths}, repaired up to the house of the temple servants and the merchants, opposite the Enrollment Gate and up to the upper room of the corner. Between the upper room of the corner to the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and merchants repaired.

The weight of the gold that came to Solomon in one year [was] six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold, apart from [that of] the men of the traders and the profits of the traders, and all the kings of the Arabs and the governors of the land.

And Solomon's horses [were] imported from Egypt and from Kue. The traders of the king received [them] from Kue at a price. They went up and exported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver and a horse for one hundred and fifty [shekels]. And [these were] {likewise exported} to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram.

So when it became dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I commanded that the doors be shut and said that they should not be opened until after the Sabbath. And I appointed some of my young men over the gates [to prevent] any {goods} being brought in on the day of the Sabbath. So the merchants and the sellers of merchandise spent the night outside of Jerusalem once or twice. But I warned them and said to them, "Why are you spending the night opposite the wall? If you do [it again], I will lay hands against you." From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath.

[The] trader, in his hand [are] scales of deceit; he loves to oppress.

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. And [when he] found one very valuable pearl, he went [and] sold everything that he possessed and purchased it.

After these [things] he departed from Athens [and] went to Corinth. And he found a certain Jew {named} Aquila, {a native} of Pontus who had arrived recently from Italy {along with} Priscilla his wife, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to depart from Rome, [and] he went to them. And because [he] was practicing the same trade, he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade.

Now Naaman was the commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man before his master and {highly regarded}, for by him Yahweh had given victory to Aram. Now the man was a mighty warrior, [but he was] afflicted with a skin disease.

Now [when] he entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him, appealing to him and saying, "Lord, my slave is lying paralyzed in my house, terribly tormented!" And he said to him, "I will come [and] heal him."read more.
And the centurion answered [and] said, "Lord, I am not worthy that you should come in under my roof. But only say the word and my slave will be healed. For I also am a man under authority who has soldiers under me, and I say to this one, 'Go!' and he goes, and to another one, 'Come!' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this!' and he does [it]." Now [when] Jesus heard [this], he was astonished, and said to those who were following [him], "Truly I say to you, I have found such great faith with no one in Israel. But I say to you that many will come from east and west and {be seated at the banquet} with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!" And Jesus said to the centurion, "Go, as you have believed it will be done for you." And the slave was healed at that hour.

After he had finished all his statements in the hearing of the people, he entered into Capernaum. Now a certain centurion's slave, who was esteemed by him, {was sick} [and] was about to die. So [when he] heard about Jesus, he sent Jewish elders to him, asking him that he would come [and] cure his slave.read more.
And [when they] came to Jesus, they began imploring him earnestly, saying, "He is worthy [that] you grant this for him, because he loves our nation and he himself built the synagogue for us." So Jesus went with them. Now by this time he was not far away from the house, [and] the centurion sent friends, saying to him, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy that you should come in under my roof. For this reason neither did I consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word and my slave must be healed. For I also am a man placed under authority, who has soldiers under me, and I say to this one, 'Go!' and he goes, and to another one, 'Come!' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this!' and he does [it]." And [when] Jesus heard these [things], he marveled at him, and turning around to the crowd that was following him, he said, "I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith!" And [when they] returned to the house, those who had been sent found the slave healthy.

And those who served in the army were also asking him, saying, "What should we also do?" And he said to them, "Extort from no one, and do not blackmail [anyone], and be content with your pay."

Now [there was] a certain man in Caesarea {named} Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Cohort, devout and fearing God together with all his household, doing many charitable deeds for the people and praying to God {continually}. About the ninth hour of the day, he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming to him and saying to him, "Cornelius."read more.
And he stared at him and became terrified [and] said, "What is [it], Lord?" And he said to him, "Your prayers and your charitable deeds have gone up for a memorial offering before God. And now, send men to Joppa and summon a certain Simon, who is also called Peter. This man is staying as a guest with a certain Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea." And when the angel who spoke to him departed, he summoned two of the household slaves and a devout soldier from those who attended him, and [after he] had explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

Suffer together with [me] as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one who serves as a soldier is entangled in the activities of [everyday] life, so that he may please the one who enlisted [him].

And Ephraim and Manasseh, whom Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest of On bore to him, were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt.

And Melchizedek, the king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. (He was the priest of God Most High).

And Jethro, the priest of Midian, the father-in-law of Moses, heard all that God had done for Moses and for Israel, his people, that Yahweh had brought Israel out from Egypt.

And you will speak to all [the] skilled of heart, whom I have given {a gift of skill}, and they will make the garments of Aaron to consecrate him for his serving as my priest.

And you will clothe Aaron with the holy garments, and you will anoint him, and you will consecrate him, and he will serve as a priest for me.

So Micah {appointed the Levite}, and the young man became a priest for him; and he was in the house of Micah. And Micah said, "Now I know Yahweh will make me prosperous, because the Levite has become my priest."

Now a man of God came to Eli and said to him: "Thus says Yahweh: 'Did I not clearly reveal myself to the house of your ancestor when they were in Egypt under the house of Pharaoh? And I chose him from all the tribes of Israel to be a priest to me, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, and to bear an ephod before me. I gave to the house of your ancestor all the offerings made by fire by the {Israelites}. Why do you despise my sacrifice and my offering which I commanded [for my] dwelling place, while you honored your sons more than me by making yourselves fat from the best of all the offerings of my people Israel?

Now these are the officials who were his: Azariah the son of Zadok [was] the priest. Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, [were] the secretaries; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud [was] the recorder. Benaiah the son of Jehoiada [was] over the army, and Zadok and Abiathar were priests.read more.
Azariah the son of Nathan [was] over the governors, and Zabud the son of Nathan was a priest, an advisor to the king.

For the lips of [the] priest should guard knowledge, and they should seek instruction from his mouth, for he [is] the messenger of Yahweh of hosts.

And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony to them."

You will {appoint} them over the tabernacle of the testimony, over all its vessels, and over all that belongs to it. They will carry the tabernacle and all its vessels, and they will care for it; and they will camp around the tabernacle. And when the tabernacle is set out, the Levites will {take it down}, and when encamping the tabernacle the Levites will set it up; the stranger that approaches [it] will be put to death.

Then David ordered the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their brothers [as] singers with instruments of song, musical instruments, stringed instruments, and cymbals, {raising their voices for joy}.

Then he appointed some of the Levites as ministers before the ark of Yahweh, to invoke, thank, and praise Yahweh the God of Israel.

The priests, the Levites, and some of the people lived [in Jerusalem], and the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants [lived] in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.

On that day men were appointed for the storehouse rooms, the offerings, the first fruits, and the tithes, in order to gather in them from the fields of the cities the requirements of the law for the priests and Levites; for the joy of Judah [was] upon the priests and Levites standing there. They kept the responsibility of their God and the responsibility of cleansing, and the singers and gatekeepers, according to the command of David and his son Solomon. For in the days of David and Asaph from ancient times there was the head of the singers and a song of praise and thanksgiving to God.read more.
So all of Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah gave the daily food portions of the singers and gatekeepers. And they set apart [that which was for] the Levites, and the Levites set apart [that which was for] the descendants of Aaron.

And in the same way also a Levite, [when he] came down to the place and saw [him], passed by on the opposite side.

Now David [was] sitting between the two gates, and the sentinel went up to the roof of the gate by the wall and he lifted up his eyes and watched, and look, a man [was] running by himself. The sentry called and told the king, and the king said, "If he [is] alone, good news is in his mouth." {He kept coming closer}. Then the sentinel saw another man running, so the sentinel called to the gatekeeper and said, "Look, a man running alone." The king said, "This one also [is] bringing good news."read more.
The sentinel said, "I [am] seeing [that] the running of the first [is] like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zakok." The king said, "He [is] a good man; he will come, for good news."

The oracle of Dumah: [One is] calling to me from Seir, "Watchman, what {of} [the] night? Watchman, what {of} [the] night?" [The] watchman says, "Morning comes, and also [the] night. If you will inquire, inquire; {come back again}."

His watchmen [are] blind, none of them know. They [are] all dumb dogs; they are unable to bark, panting, lying down, loving to slumber.

"Son of man, speak to {your people}, and you must say to them, 'A land, if I bring over it a sword and the people of the land take a man, one from their number, and they appoint him for them as a watchman, and he sees the sword coming against the land, and he blows on the horn and he warns the people, and {anyone who listens} hears the sound of the horn and {he does not take warning} and [the] sword comes and it takes him, his blood will be on his [own] head.read more.
[For] he heard the sound of the horn and he did not take warning; his blood will be on him. But [if] he took warning, he saved his life. And [as for] the watchman, if he sees the sword coming and {he does not blow} the horn, and the people [are] not warned, and [the] sword comes and it takes {their lives}, he will be taken through his guilt, but his blood from the hand of the watchman I will seek.'

"Truly, truly I say to you, the one who does not enter through the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up at some other place--that one is a thief and a robber. But the one who enters through the door is the shepherd of the sheep. For this one the doorkeeper opens, 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, "Your servants [are] keepers of sheep, both we and also our ancestors."

And Jacob {continued his journey} and went to the land of the Easterners. And he looked, and behold, [there was] a well in the field, and behold, there [were] three flocks of sheep lying beside it, for out of that well the flocks were watered. And the stone on the mouth of the well [was] large. And [when] all the flocks were gathered there, they rolled away the stone from the mouth of the well. And they watered the sheep and returned the stone upon the mouth of the well to its place.read more.
And Jacob said to them, "My brothers, where [are] you from?" And they said, "We [are] from Haran." And he said to them, "Do you know Laban, son of Nahor?" And they said, "We know [him]." And he said to them, "{Is he well}?" And they said, "[He is] well. Now look, Rachel his daughter is coming with the sheep." And he said, "Look, [it is] still {broad daylight}; it is not the time [for] the livestock to be gathered. Give water to the sheep and go, pasture them." And they said, "We are not able, until all the flocks are gathered. Then the stone is rolled away from the mouth of the well, and we water the sheep." While he was speaking with them, Rachel came with the sheep which belonged to her father, for she was pasturing [them]. And it happened [that], when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban, his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban, his mother's brother, Jacob drew near and rolled away the stone from the mouth of the well and watered the sheep of Laban, his mother's brother.

Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household, "I will go up and report to Pharaoh, and I will say to him, 'My brothers and my father's household who [were] in the land of Canaan have come to me. And the men [are] shepherds, for they are men of livestock, and they have brought their flocks and their cattle and all that they have.' And it shall be [that] when Pharaoh calls you he will say, 'What [is] your occupation?'read more.
Then you must say, 'You servants [are] men of livestock from our childhood until now, both we and also our ancestors,' so that you may dwell in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd [is] a detestable thing to 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 came to their rescue and watered their flock.

David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper, and he took [the provisions] and went as Jesse had commanded him. He came to the encampment while the troops [were] going to the battle line, and they raised the war cry.

Now there was a man from the servants of Saul on that day, detained before Yahweh, whose name [was] Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul's shepherds.

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

And there were shepherds in the same region, living out of doors and keeping watch, guarding over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord stood near them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and {they were terribly frightened}. And the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring good news to you of great joy which will be for all the people:read more.
that today a Savior, who is Christ the Lord, was born for you in the city of David. And this will be the sign for you: you will find the baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among people {with whom he is pleased}!" And it happened that when the angels had departed from them into heaven, the shepherds began to say to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has revealed to us!" And they went hurrying and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the manger. And [when they] saw [it], they made known the statement that had been told to them about this child. And all who heard [it] were astonished concerning what had been said to them by the shepherds.

But the one who enters through the door is the shepherd of the sheep. For this one the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. Whenever he sends out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.

{And then} on that day, each of the prophets will be ashamed because of his vision when he was prophesying, and they will not put on a cloak of hair in order to deceive, but he will say, "I [am] not a prophet; I am a tiller of the soil, for a man has acquired me since my youth."

Is it all day [that] the plowman plows, opens to sow seed, harrows his ground? When he has leveled its {surface}, does he not scatter dill, and sow cumin seed, and {plant} wheat [in] planted rows, and barley [in] an appointed place, and spelt grain [as] its border?

You will again plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria. [The] planters will plant, and they will enjoy [it].

Be ashamed, farmers; Wail, vinedressers, over [the] wheat and over [the] barley, because [the] harvest of the field is ruined.

And he spoke many [things] to them in parables, saying, "Behold, the sower went out to sow, and while he was sowing, {some seed} fell on the side of the path, and the birds came [and] devoured it. And other [seed] fell on the rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up at once because it did not have [any] depth of soil.read more.
But [when] the sun rose it was scorched, and because it did not have [enough] root, it withered. And other [seed] fell among the thorn plants, and the thorn plants came up and choked it. But other [seed] fell on the good soil and produced grain, this one a hundred [times as much] and this one sixty and this one thirty. The one who has ears, let him hear!"

"Listen! Behold, the sower went out to sow. And it happened that while [he] was sowing, {some seed} fell on the side of the path, and the birds came and devoured it. And other [seed] fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up at once, because it did not have [any] depth of soil.read more.
And when the sun rose it was scorched, and because it did not have [enough] root, it withered. And other [seed] fell among the thorn plants, and the thorn plants came up and choked it, and it did not produce grain. And other [seed] fell on the good soil, and produced grain, coming up and increasing, and it bore [a crop]--one thirty and one sixty and one a hundred [times as much].

"The sower went out to sow his seed, and while he was sowing, {some seed} fell on the side of the path and was trampled under foot, and the birds of the sky devoured it. And other [seed] fell on the rock, and [when it] came up, it withered, because it did not have moisture. And other [seed] fell in the midst of the thorn plants, and the thorn plants grew up with [it] [and] choked it.read more.
And other [seed] fell on the good soil, and [when it] came up, it produced a hundred times as much grain." [As he] said these [things], he called out, "The one who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

"Listen to another parable: There was a man--a master of a house--who planted a vineyard, and put a fence [around] it, and dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower, and leased it to tenant farmers, and went on a journey.

And he began to speak to them in parables: "A man planted a vineyard, and put a fence [around it], and dug a trough for the winepress, and built a watchtower, and leased it to tenant farmers, and went on a journey.

And he began to tell the people this parable: "A man planted a vineyard, and leased it to tenant farmers, and went on a journey for a long time.

The farmer who works hard must [be] the first to receive a share of the crops.

Therefore be patient, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the soil, being patient concerning it until it receives the early and late rains.

which when it was filled they pulled to shore and sat down [and] collected the good [fish] into containers, but the bad they threw out.

And the fishers will mourn, and all of those who cast fishhooks in the Nile will lament, and those who spread out fishing nets on [the] {surface} of [the] water will languish.