worker
Ergates denotes a person engaged in work, whether hired for labor, sent into a harvest, or described by the character of that work.
The term most often identifies people sent or recognized as workers in a harvest-oriented task and in contexts where their support is discussed. It also names hired laborers in vineyards, fields, and a trade, and can designate people whose work is qualified as deceitful, evil, or unrighteous.
Senses in use
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Workers sent for harvest-related service · dominant
In Matthew 9:37 and Matthew 9:38, nominative and accusative plural forms occur in the saying that the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few and are to be sent into the harvest. Luke 10:2 repeats that harvest setting, while Matthew 10:10 and Luke 10:7 place the singular worker in instructions about receiving food or provisions; in 2 Timothy 2:15 the accusative singular is associated with presenting oneself approved to God and cutting straight the word of truth.
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Hired or wage-earning laborers · common
Matthew 20:1, Matthew 20:2, and Matthew 20:8 use plural forms for people hired for a vineyard, sent into it, and called to receive their wage. Acts 19:25 concerns workers involved in a trade, and James 5:4 identifies workers who mowed fields and whose withheld wage cries out; 1 Timothy 5:18 likewise places the singular form in a statement that the laborer deserves wages.
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People characterized by wrongful work · occasional
Plural forms are qualified negatively in 2 Corinthians 11:13, where the APB renders the clause "deceitful workers," and in Philippians 3:2, "evil workers." In Luke 13:27, the vocative plural addresses "all workers of unrighteousness" in a command to depart.
In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB usually presents the term as "worker" or "workers," with "laborer" in 1 Timothy 5:18. Its qualifiers produce renderings such as "deceitful workers," "evil workers," and "workers of unrighteousness,".