“The ants are a people not strong”: “A people not strong” is the literal rendering of the Hebrew, but it is rather unnatural in English. Scott renders the expression “a frail species” and New International Version “creatures of little strength.” It is also possible to leave “people” untranslated, as in “Ants, who seem to be feeble” (Contemporary English Version) or “Ants: they are weak” (Good News Translation).

“Yet they provide their food in the summer”: This is how the ants show their wisdom. Ants are used as an example of industrious conduct for human beings to follow in 6.6-8; see comments there. “They provide their food in the summer” does not say very clearly what the Hebrew intends: ants “prepare” or “store up” food in the summer, which sustains them for the rest of the year. This is well expressed by “they prepare their store of food in the summer” (Revised English Bible) and “they store up their food in the summer” (New International Version, Good News Translation).

Since the seasons are different in various parts of the world, translators may need to make some adjustments in dealing with “in the summer” for their own situation. Two examples of renderings that avoid naming particular seasons are “they gather food at harvest time and store it for the time when food is short” and “they know how to store up their food ready for the time of rain.”

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 .