2039. ergasia
Lexical Summary
ergasia: Work, business, trade, gain, practice

Original Word: ἐργασία
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: ergasia
Pronunciation: er-gah-SEE-ah
Phonetic Spelling: (er-gas-ee'-ah)
KJV: craft, diligence, gain, work
NASB: business, profit, effort, practice
Word Origin: [from G2040 (ἐργάτης - laborers)]

1. occupation
2. (by implication) profit, pains

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
craft, diligence, gain, work.

From ergates; occupation; by implication, profit, pains -- craft, diligence, gain, work.

see GREEK ergates

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from ergon
Definition
work (noun)
NASB Translation
business (2), effort (1), practice (1), profit (2).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 2039: ἐργασία

ἐργασία, ἐργασίας, , (ἐργάζομαι;

1. equivalent to τό ἐργάζεσθαι, a working, performing: ἀκαθαρσίας, Ephesians 4:19.

2. work, business: Acts 19:25 (Xenophon, oec. 6, 8, et al.).

3. gain got by work, profit: Acts 16:19; παρέχειν ἐργασίαν τίνι, Acts 16:16; Acts 19:24 (yet others refer this to 2 above); (Xenophon, mem. 3, 10, 1; cyneg. 3, 3; Polybius 4, 50, 3).

4. endeavor, pains (A. V. diligence): δίδωμι ἐργασίαν, after the Latinismoperam do, Luke 12:58 (Hermog. de invent. 3, 5, 7).

Topical Lexicon
Meaning and Scope

The noun ἐργασία (Strong’s Greek 2039) denotes the activity, enterprise, or industry that produces material gain. Rather than mere “work” in the abstract, it points to trade, business, or profit-making endeavor. In Scripture, its six appearances cluster around two themes: the pursuit of economic advantage and the moral weight that such pursuit carries in daily life and discipleship.

In the Teaching of Jesus (Luke 12:58)

In the parable about settling with an accuser on the way to court, the Lord places ἐργασία in a legal context, highlighting the costliness of unresolved conflict. When worldly gain or livelihood is threatened, people move quickly to settle; how much more should believers seek reconciliation before divine judgment falls. Jesus employs the marketplace instinct—protecting one’s “business”—to press home the urgency of repentance.

Economic Upheaval in Philippi (Acts 16:16, 19)

Luke records that a slave girl “brought her owners much profit by fortune-telling” (Acts 16:16). When Paul expelled the spirit, “their hope of profit was gone” (Acts 16:19), triggering persecution. Here ἐργασία exposes the collision between gospel liberation and exploitative commerce. Where Christ sets people free, ungodly economies often feel the loss. Ministry today must anticipate similar backlash when the freedom of the oppressed undercuts lucrative but sinful enterprises.

Commercial Resistance in Ephesus (Acts 19:24-25)

The Ephesian silversmith Demetrius “brought no little business to the craftsmen” (Acts 19:24) and rallied them, saying, “You know that our prosperity comes from this business” (Acts 19:25). His speech reveals three truths:
• Idolatry can be deeply entwined with local economies.
• Financial self-interest can masquerade as civic or religious zeal.
• Revival threatens entrenched markets tied to false worship.

The riot that followed shows how ἐργασία can mobilize an entire culture against the gospel when livelihoods seem endangered.

Moral Abandonment in Gentile Culture (Ephesians 4:19)

Paul warns that the nations “have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.” The phrase “the practice” translates ἐργασία and pictures an organized, deliberate industry of vice. Sin is not only personal; it becomes commercialized. The church must therefore confront systems that normalize and profit from impurity, offering instead the new creation ethic described in Ephesians 4:20-24.

Theological Insights

1. Work is honorable, but profit divorced from righteousness becomes idolatry.
2. The gospel disrupts unjust economies; conversion has social and financial repercussions.
3. Christian mission must weigh the economic ripple effects of spiritual deliverance.
4. Ultimate “gain” is not in earthly ἐργασία but in “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:8).

Practical Ministry Applications

• Preach repentance that reaches the wallet, preparing converts for economic sacrifices.
• Support believers who lose income because of faithfulness to Christ.
• Advocate ethical commerce that honors both Creator and neighbor.
• Recognize spiritual warfare where industries monetize bondage, and pray accordingly.

Summary

Strong’s 2039 underscores how deeply work, wealth, and worship intertwine. Scripture presents ἐργασία as an arena where allegiance to Christ is tested, opposition arises, and holiness must prevail. Wise discipleship equips believers to steward their trades for the kingdom, even when profit must bow to principle.

Forms and Transliterations
εργασία εργασίαι εργασιαν εργασίαν ἐργασίαν εργασιας εργασίας ἐργασίας εργασίμω ergasian ergasían ergasias ergasías
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Englishman's Concordance
Luke 12:58 N-AFS
GRK: ὁδῷ δὸς ἐργασίαν ἀπηλλάχθαι ἀπ'
NAS: [there] make an effort to settle
KJV: give diligence that thou mayest be delivered
INT: way give earnestness to be set free from

Acts 16:16 N-AFS
GRK: ἡμῖν ἥτις ἐργασίαν πολλὴν παρεῖχεν
NAS: much profit by fortune-telling.
KJV: masters much gain by soothsaying:
INT: us who gain much brought

Acts 16:19 N-GFS
GRK: ἐλπὶς τῆς ἐργασίας αὐτῶν ἐπιλαβόμενοι
NAS: that their hope of profit was gone,
KJV: of their gains was gone,
INT: hope of the profit of them having taken hold of

Acts 19:24 N-AFS
GRK: οὐκ ὀλίγην ἐργασίαν
NAS: no little business to the craftsmen;
KJV: no small gain unto the craftsmen;
INT: no little business

Acts 19:25 N-GFS
GRK: ταύτης τῆς ἐργασίας ἡ εὐπορία
NAS: depends upon this business.
KJV: by this craft we have our
INT: this business the riches

Ephesians 4:19 N-AFS
GRK: ἀσελγείᾳ εἰς ἐργασίαν ἀκαθαρσίας πάσης
NAS: to sensuality for the practice of every kind
KJV: to work all
INT: sensuality for [the] working of uncleaness all

Strong's Greek 2039
6 Occurrences


ἐργασίαν — 4 Occ.
ἐργασίας — 2 Occ.

2038b
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