Provides her supplies in the summer, And gathers her food in the harvest.
Parallel translations
- WEB provides her bread in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest.
- KJV Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.
- BSB it prepares its provisions in summer; it gathers its food at harvest.
- NASB Prepares its food in the summer And gathers its provision in the harvest.
- NLT they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The ant gathers food in season, preparing ahead for need. Wise foresight stores up for the future.
Overview
By storing provisions in summer and harvest, the ant models prudent planning for times of scarcity. The contrast with the heedless sluggard highlights the value of foresight and timely labor. Such providence reflects the order God has built into life and the call to steward our time and resources well.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Prov 10:5He who gathers in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during the harvest is a son who causes shame.
- 1 Tim 6:19laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold of eternal life.
- Prov 30:25the ants are not a strong people, yet they provide their food in the summer.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 6:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.