“Without having any chief, officer or ruler”: “Chief” is used of the clan leaders or commanders of men of war in Josh 10.24. The word rendered “officer” is used in the Old Testament to refer to a judicial, civil, or military person responsible for organizing the people. “Ruler” is a general term for someone who commands or governs the affairs of people. The purpose in using three terms is apparently to emphasize that the ants, in the teacher’s view, do not require an elaborate system of control. They perform their duties without an administration. Good News Translation uses all three kinds of overseers. Contemporary English Version reduces them to a single term by saying “Ants don’t have leaders.”

It is apparent that the teacher’s understanding of the elaborate structure of an ant colony is quite limited in terms of present-day knowledge.

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 .