The Meaning of Proverbs 30:25 Explained

Proverbs 30:25

KJV: The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;

YLT: The ants are a people not strong, And they prepare in summer their food,

Darby: The ants, a people not strong, yet they provide their food in the summer;

ASV: The ants are a people not strong, Yet they provide their food in the summer;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The ants  [are] a people  not strong,  yet they prepare  their meat  in the summer; 

What does Proverbs 30:25 Mean?

Context Summary

Proverbs 30:18-33 - Lessons From Common Things
We have four more quatrains.
1. There are the four wonders that baffle Agur's understanding. How superficial is our knowledge! How does the eagle mount the air, or the serpent find a hold on the slippery rock, or a ship plow her way across the deep, or a man and woman fall in love by a secret interchange of heart which no one else perceives? And further how can a sinner continue to sin without experiencing remorse?
2. There are four intolerable conditions: a slave in authority, a pampered fool, an ill-assorted marriage, and a slave-girl, like Hagar, preferred to her mistress.
3. There are four kinds of animals which prove that it is possible to be insignificant and yet be wise: the ant, the cony, the locust, and the lizard, r.v.
4. There are four things which give the idea of stateliness in motion: a lion, a greyhound, a he-goat, and a king "against whom there is no rising up." This remarkable collection ends with an exhortation to the repression of anger. Sometimes to refuse to express one's passion is the surest way of killing it. Treat it like a room on fire. Shut door and window, that it may die for want of air. Ask God's holy sunlight to replace the unholy heat of your soul. [source]

Chapter Summary: Proverbs 30

1  Agur's confession of his faith
7  The two points of his prayer
10  The meanest are not to be wronged
11  Four wicked generations
15  Four things insatiable
24  four things exceeding wise
29  Four things stately
32  Wrath is to be prevented

What do the individual words in Proverbs 30:25 mean?

the ants [are] a people not strong and yet they prepare in the summer their food
הַ֭נְּמָלִים עַ֣ם לֹא־ עָ֑ז וַיָּכִ֖ינוּ בַקַּ֣יִץ לַחְמָֽם

הַ֭נְּמָלִים  the  ants  [are] 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine plural
Root: נְמָלָה  
Sense: ant.
עַ֣ם  a  people 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
עָ֑ז  strong 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: עַז 
Sense: strong, mighty, fierce.
וַיָּכִ֖ינוּ  and  yet  they  prepare 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: כּוּן 
Sense: to be firm, be stable, be established.
בַקַּ֣יִץ  in  the  summer 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: קַיִץ  
Sense: summer, summer-fruit.
לַחְמָֽם  their  food 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: לֶחֶם  
Sense: bread, food, grain.

What are the major concepts related to Proverbs 30:25?

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