ἐργάζομαι G2038
To work, labor, perform, or produce; the middle-voice verb for engaging in productive activity, doing deeds, and bringing about results.
The verb ergazomai is the New Testament's primary term for human labor and productive action. Jesus invokes it when sending workers into the vineyard (Matt 21:28), when defending his Sabbath healing by declaring 'my Father is working until now, and I am working' (John 5:17), and when redirecting human effort toward imperishable food (John 6:27). The Spanish obrar and German arbeiten both reflect the word's core sense of purposeful exertion. What gives ergazomai its theological depth is the ease with which it shifts from physical toil to moral conduct — the same verb describes a farmer tilling soil and a sinner committing lawlessness (Matt 7:23). Paul and James harness this flexibility to debate whether faith 'works' righteousness or wrath (Rom 4:15; Jas 1:20).
3. produce, bring about — To produce, bring about, or cause a result, where the emphasis falls on the effect generated rather than the effort expended. In 2 Corinthians 7:10 godly sorrow 'produces' repentance leading to salvation, and in James 1:20 human anger does not 'produce' the righteousness of God. The Spanish produce and the shift from arbeiten to a causative nuance in context confirm this as a distinct semantic development. The agent recedes; the outcome comes to the fore. 2×
AR["يَصنَعُ","يُنتِجُ"]·ben["উৎপন্ন-করে","উৎপন্ন-করে;"]·DE["arbeiten"]·EN["produces"]·FR["travailler"]·heb["פּוֹעֵל","פּוֹעֶלֶת"]·HI["उत्पन्न-करता-है","करता-है"]·ID["menghasilkan","menghasilkan."]·IT["lavorare"]·jav["ndadosaké","ngasilaken."]·KO["이루어낸다","이루지-못한다."]·PT["produz"]·RU["производит","производит."]·ES["produce"]·SW["fanya","inazalisha;"]·TR["işler","pişmanlık duyulmaz"]·urd["پیدا-کرتا-ہے","کرتا۔"]
▼ 4 more senses below
Senses
1. work, labor, toil — The foundational sense of engaging in work, labor, or toil, often for livelihood or as productive activity. In John 5:17 Jesus grounds human work in divine activity: 'My Father is working until now, and I am working.' Luke 13:14 shows the synagogue ruler insisting people should work on six days but not the Sabbath. The Spanish trabajar/obrar and German arbeiten uniformly render this as purposeful exertion. John 6:27's command to 'work for the food that endures' elevates daily labor into a spiritual metaphor while retaining the concrete sense of effort. 27×
AR["أنْ-يَعْمَلَ","أَعمَلُ","أَعْمَلُ","أَن-نَعمَل","أَن-يَعمَل","أَنْ-يُعْمَلَ","اعمَلوا","العامِلِ","اِعْمَلُوا","تَشْتَغِلوا","تَعْمَلُ","عامِلينَ","عامِلًا","كَانَ-يَعْمَلُ","نَعْمَلَ","نَعْمَلُ"]·ben["করছি","করি-আমরা","করেন","কর্মকারীকে,","কাজ-করছি","কাজ-করছে-না","কাজ-করতে","কাজ-করতেন","কাজ-করা","কাজ-করে","তোমরা-কাজ-কর","পরিশ্রম-কর"]·DE["arbeiten","arbeitet"]·EN["I-work","to-work","was-working","we-might-work","work","work-you","working"]·FR["travailler"]·heb["לַ-עֲבֹד","לַ-עֲשׂוֹת","לַעֲבֹד","נַעֲבֹד","עִבְדוּ","עָבַד","עוֹבְדִים","עוֹבֵד","פּוֹעֵל","פּוֹעֵל-אֲנִי"]·HI["कअम-करत-हुअ","कअम-करते-हुए","कअम-करन","कअम-करने-वअले","कअम-करो","करता-हूं","करता-है?","करना","करना।","करें","काम-करता-था","काम-करता-हूँ।","काम-करते-हुए","काम-करना","काम-करनेवाले-को","मेहनत-करो"]·ID["Aku-kerjakan","Kau-kerjakan","bekerja","bekerja,","bekerja.","bekerjalah","kami-kerjakan","mengerjakan","yang-bekerja,"]·IT["lavorare"]·jav["Kawula-tindakaken","Panjenengan-tumindak?","kita-tumindak","makarya","makarya.","nindakaken","nindakaken.","nyambut-damel","nyambut-damel,","padamela"]·KO["그가-일했다","일하게","일하기를","일하는","일하는-자에게","일하는가","일하라","일하며","일하면서","일하지-않으면서","일한다","일해야-할","하고-있다"]·PT["eu-realizo","fazendo","que-trabalha","trabalhai","trabalhando","trabalhar"]·RU["делаешь","делать","делать.","делаю","делаю.","делающих","делая","работал","работать","работающему","работая","совершали","трудитесь"]·ES["obrando","obrar","obras","obremos","obro","que-obra","trabajaban","trabajad","trabajando","trabajar","trabajo"]·SW["-","akifanya-kazi","alifanya-kazi","anayefanya-kazi","fanyeni-kazi","kufanya-kazi","ninafanya","ninafanya-kazi","tendeni","tufanye-kazi","tukifanya-kazi","unafanya-kazi","wakifanya-kazi"]·TR["calisin","isleyerek","işliyorsun","çalışalım","çalışan","çalışana","çalışarak","çalışmak","çalışmaya","çalışın","çalışıyordu","çalışıyorum"]·urd["-ال","محنت-مت-کرو","کام-کرتا-تھا","کام-کرتا-ہے","کام-کرتے-ہوئے","کام-کرنا","کام-کرنے-والے","کام-کرنے-کو","کرتا-ہوں","کرنا","کرو"]
Matt 21:28, Luke 13:14, John 5:17, John 5:17, John 6:27, John 6:28, John 6:30, John 9:4, John 9:4, Acts 13:41, Acts 18:3, Rom 4:4 (+15 more)
2. do, perform, commit deeds — To do, perform, or commit deeds, typically with moral or ethical weight. In Matthew 7:23 Jesus dismisses those who 'work lawlessness,' and in Acts 10:35 the one who 'works righteousness' is accepted by God. The Spanish obrar and hizo capture the performative quality — this is not neutral labor but morally consequential action. Romans 2:10 promises glory to everyone who 'works good,' showing how the same verb that describes vineyard toil in the parables now measures ethical conduct. Mark 14:6 uses it for the 'good work' the woman performed in anointing Jesus. 10×
AR["تَعمَلونَ","تَعمَلْ","تَعْمَلُ","عامِلٍ","عَامِلُ","عَمِلَتْ","عَمِلُوا","فاعِلي","فَلنَعمَل"]·ben["আমরা-কাজ-করি","কর","করছো","করে;","করেছে","কর্মকারীকে","কারী","তুমি-কাজ-কর","সম্পন্ন-করল"]·DE["arbeiten","arbeitet"]·EN["let-us-work","she-did","worked","working","works","you-commit","you-work"]·FR["travailler"]·heb["נַעֲשֶׂה","עָשְׂתָה","עוֹשֶׂה","פָּעֲלוּ","פּוֹעֲלֵי","פּוֹעֵל","פּוֹעֶלֶת","תִּפְעֲלוּ","תַּעֲשִׂה"]·HI["करता-है","करते-हो","करनेवाले","किया","तू-काम-करता-है,","हुम-भल-करेइन"]·ID["berbuat","berbuat;","dia-kerjakan","dia-telah-lakukan","engkau-kerjakan","kamu-berbuat,","marilah-berbuat","melakukan","mengerjakan"]·IT["lavorare"]·jav["ingkang-nindakaken","kita-tumindaka","nglampahi","nindakaken","nindakaken,","nindakaken;","panjenengan-pakarya","sampun-nglampahi"]·KO["네-가-일하면","짓는다,","행하는-자-는","행하는-자들","행하는-자에게","행하였다","행하였으니","행하자","행하지","행했다"]·PT["cometeis","faz;","praticaram","que-pratica","que-praticam","realizas,","realizou"]·RU["будем-делать","делаете,","делающему","делающие","делающий","она-сделала","поэтому","сделаешь","сделала","творили"]·ES["hizo","obra","obrando","obrares","obraron","obremos","obráis","obró","que-obra","que‒obran"]·SW["amefanya","anayefanya","atendaye","fanya;","mnatenda","na-tufanye","unachofanya","wafanyao","walifanya"]·TR["isleyene","işlediler","işlersen,","işlersiniz","işleyelim","işleyenler","yapar","yaptı","çalışan"]·urd["انصاف-کیا","کام-کرے،","کرتی","کرتے-ہو٬","کرنے-والا","کرنے-والو","کریں","کِیا","کیا"]
4. sense 4 — To work with, invest, or trade, as in the parable of the talents (Matt 25:16) where the servant who received five talents 'worked with them' and gained five more. The Spanish trabajó and German arbeitet here carry the commercial sense of putting capital to productive use. This extends the basic labor sense into the domain of economic enterprise and investment, a natural metaphorical step from physical toil to financial activity. 1×
AR["اتَّجَرَ"]·ben["কাজ-করল"]·DE["arbeitet"]·EN["worked"]·FR["travailler"]·heb["עָבַד"]·HI["काम-किया"]·ID["bekerja"]·IT["lavorare"]·jav["dagang"]·KO["일했다"]·PT["negociou"]·RU["употребил-в-дело"]·ES["trabajó"]·SW["alifanya-kazi"]·TR["çalıştı"]·urd["کام-کیا"]
5. sense 5 — To be worked or wrought, appearing in the passive or perfect passive participle to describe deeds as 'having been performed' in a particular manner. In John 3:21 the one who does the truth comes to the light so that his deeds may be revealed as 'having been worked in God.' The Spanish obradas and the passive construction show that the focus shifts from the doer to the character and origin of the deed itself — these works bear the mark of divine enabling. 1×
AR["مَعْمُولَةٌ"]·ben["করা"]·DE["arbeiten"]·EN["having-been-worked"]·FR["travailler"]·heb["עֲשׂוּיִים"]·HI["किए-गए।"]·ID["dikerjakan."]·IT["lavorare"]·jav["dipun-tindakaken."]·KO["행해졌다"]·PT["praticadas."]·RU["соделанные"]·ES["obradas"]·SW["yamefanywa"]·TR["yapılmış"]·urd["کیے-گئے"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἐργάζομαι, Refs 8th c.BC+, etc., Cretan dialect ϝεργάδδομαι Refs: future -άσομαι Refs 6th c.BC+, etc., Doric dialect LXX+3rd c.BC+: aorist εἰργασάμην, Ionic dialect Refs 6th c.BC+: perfect εἴργασμαι, Ionic dialectRefs 5th c.BC+ —These tenses are used both in middle and passive significations: for other passive tenses, see belowRefs 4th c.BC+; but this rule is often broken in later Papyrus,…