6:8

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

8a it prepares its provisions in summer ;

8b it gathers its food at harvest.

These lines function together to emphasize that ants gather and store food supplies during times when food is available. They do this to prepare for times when food cannot be found.

6:8a–b

prepares…gathers: In Hebrew, the word prepares means “gets ready.” Ants prepare food supplies by gathering them and storing them in their nests. Other ways to translate these terms are:

procures…stores up (New American Bible)

in summer…at harvest: No contrast is intended between these two terms. In Palestine, various crops were harvested during the warm season, from March to September. Ants stored food in their nests during these months to prepare for the winter season, when there was no food.

Some English versions make this information explicit. For example:

they store up their food during the summer, getting ready for winter (Good News Translation)
-or-
they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter (New Living Translation (2004))

You will need to decide whether to make the ants’ purpose explicit in your translation.

In parts of the world where there is no summer and winter, some other ways to translate these terms are:

• Use one expression for the parallel terms in summer and at harvest. For example:

harvest season (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
summer (Good News Translation)

• Use terms for seasons in your culture that fit this context. For example:

dry season
-or-
rainy/typhoon season

• Omit the reference to a specific season, and focus instead on the significance of that season in the context. For example:

when food is available…when food is not available

General Comment on 6:8a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder these parallel lines. For example:

they gather their food during the dry/harvest season and store it

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