“The badgers are a people not mighty”: The Hebrew term rendered “badgers” is generally understood to refer to the hyrax or rock badger, a small animal that lives in the crevices of rocks. “A people not mighty” is very similar to the expression used of ants in the previous verse; New International Version translates this as “creatures of little power,” while Good News Translation says “they are not strong either.”

“Yet they make their homes in the rocks”: This is how these little animals show their wisdom. They are not strong, so they protect themselves by living and hiding “in the rocks” where they will be safe.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .