ergon · work

What it means

ergon (ἔργον) is a Greek word of the Bible that means “work”.

Deed, what someone does.

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. The job given to someone.
2. What someone does, their conduct.
3. Something made by hand.

From Abbott-Smith (1922) · Thayer (1889)

Word study

Work: what someone does, an action, a task, or what results from it. Abbott-Smith: work; toil, occupation; an act; what is done. Of the same family as ἐργάζομαι, “to work”.

• “This is the work of God, that you believe” John 6:29
• “Having completed the work that you have given me” John 17:4
• “Your good works” Matthew 5:16
• Faith and works Galatians 2:16James 2:26
• Judged “according to their works” Revelation 20:12

How we translate it

“Works” 108 times, “work” 47, “deed” 7, “deeds” 6. This edition keeps “work” almost everywhere, so that the word is recognized in the letters (“by works of the law”, Galatians 2:16) and in James; “deed” only where it is set against word (“mighty in deed and word”, Luke 24:19) or speaks of someone's conduct.

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• works ×108
• work ×47
• deed ×7
• deeds ×6
• thing ×1

Related words

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

• Matthew×6
• Mark×2
• Luke×2
• John×27
• Acts×10
• Romans×15
• 1 Corinthians×8
• 2 Corinthians×3
• Galatians×8
• Ephesians×4
• Philippians×3
• Colossians×3
• 1 Thessalonians×2
• 2 Thessalonians×2
• 1 Timothy×6
• 2 Timothy×6
• Titus×8
• Hebrews×9
• James×15
• 1 Peter×2
• 2 Peter×2
• 1 John×3
• 2 John×1
• 3 John×1
• Jude×1
• Revelation×20

• Matthew 5:16

  In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

• Matthew 11:2

  Now John, hearing in prison of the works of the Messiah, sent word through his disciples

• Matthew 11:19

  The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a man who is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ And wisdom was declared righteous by her works.”

• Matthew 23:3

  So everything that they tell you, do and keep; but do not do according to their works, for they say and do not do.

• Matthew 23:5

  And they do all their works to be seen by people; for they make wide their phylacteries and make long the tassels,

• Matthew 26:10

  But Jesus, knowing it, said to them, “Why do you cause trouble for the woman? For she has done a beautiful work for me.

• Mark 13:34

  It is like a man away on a journey, who left his house and gave his slaves authority, to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to keep watch.

• Mark 14:6

  But Jesus said, “Leave her alone; why do you cause her trouble? She has done a beautiful thing to me.

• Luke 11:48

  So you are witnesses and approve of the deeds of your fathers, because they on the one hand killed them, and you build their tombs.

• Luke 24:19

  And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “The things concerning Jesus the Nazarene, who was a man, a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,

• John 3:19

  And this is the judgment: that the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light, for their works were evil.

• John 3:20

  For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, so that his works may not be exposed.

• John 3:21

  But whoever does the truth comes to the light, so that it may be shown plainly that his works have been done in God.”

• John 4:34

  Jesus says to them, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to complete his work.

• John 5:20

  For the Father holds the Son dear and shows him all that he himself does; and he will show him greater works than these, so that you may be amazed.

• John 5:36

  But I have a testimony greater than John’s; for the works that the Father has given me to complete, the very works that I do, testify about me that the Father has sent me.

• John 6:28

  So they said to him, “What must we do to carry out the works of God?”

• John 6:29

  Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one whom he has sent.”

• John 7:3

  So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples too may see your works that you are doing.

• John 7:7

  The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil.

• John 7:21

  Jesus answered and said to them, “I did one work, and you are all amazed.

• John 8:39

  They answered and said to him, “Our father is Abraham.” Jesus says to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works of Abraham.

• John 8:41

  You are doing the works of your father.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality; we have one Father: God.”

• John 9:3

  Jesus answered, “Neither this man sinned nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be revealed in him.

• John 9:4

  We must carry out the works of the one who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.

• John 10:25

  Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name, these testify about me;

• John 10:32

  Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of these works are you stoning me?”

• John 10:33

  The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are stoning you, but for blasphemy, and because you, being a man, make yourself God.”

• John 10:37

  If I am not doing the works of my Father, do not believe me;

• John 10:38

  but if I do them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and keep on knowing that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”

• John 14:10

  Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who remains in me does his works.

• John 14:11

  Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me; or else believe because of the works themselves.

• John 14:12

  Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and he will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.

• John 15:24

  If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not have had sin; but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father.

• John 17:4

  I glorified you on the earth, having completed the work that you have given me to do.

• Acts 5:38

  And now I tell you, keep away from these men and leave them alone, because if this plan or this work is of human origin, it will be overthrown;

• Acts 7:22

  And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was powerful in his words and deeds.

• Acts 7:41

  And they made a calf in those days and offered a sacrifice to the idol, and they were rejoicing in the works of their hands.

• Acts 9:36

  Now in Joppa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, is called Dorcas. She was full of good works and alms that she was doing.

• Acts 13:2

  And while they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart now for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

And 129 more times.