Quotes About Labor

Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty, but an abundant harvest comes through the strength of the ox.

There is profit in all labor, but mere talk leads only to poverty.

What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?

I acquired menservants and maidservants, and servants were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me,

Anything my eyes desired, I did not deny myself. I refused my heart no pleasure. For my heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.

And who knows whether that man will be wise or foolish? Yet he will take over all the labor at which I have worked skillfully under the sun. This too is futile.

So my heart began to despair over all the labor that I had done under the sun.

When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and he must give his portion to a man who has not worked for it, this too is futile and a great evil.

For what does a man get for all the toil and striving with which he labors under the sun?

What does the worker gain from his toil?

and also that every man should eat and drink and find satisfaction in all his labor—this is the gift of God.

I have seen that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will come after him?

I saw that all labor and success spring from a manís envy of his neighbor. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

There is a man all alone, without even a son or brother. And though there is no end to his labor, his eyes are still not content with his wealth: “For whom do I toil and bereave my soul of enjoyment?” This too is futile—a miserable task.

The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich man permits him no sleep.

As a man came from his motherís womb, so he will depart again, naked as he arrived. He takes nothing for his labor to carry in his hands.

Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of life that God has given him—for this is his lot.

Furthermore, God has given riches and wealth to every man, and He has enabled him to enjoy them, to accept his lot, and to rejoice in his labor. This is a gift from God.

All a manís labor is for his mouth, yet his appetite is never satisfied.

So I commended the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be merry. For this joy will accompany him in his labor during the days of his life that God gives him under the sun.

Enjoy life with your beloved wife all the days of the fleeting life that God has given you under the sun—all your fleeting days. For this is your portion in life and in your labor under the sun.

The one who quarries stones may be injured by them, and he who splits logs endangers himself.

But my own vineyard is mine to give; the thousand shekels are for you, O Solomon, and two hundred are for those who tend its fruit.

Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their labor.