Proverbs 30:25
The ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer;
BSB
ASV
The ants are a people not strong, Yet they provide their food in the summer;
KJV
The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;
"The ants have no strength, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." And in like manner, the Gentiles by faith in Christ prepare for themselves eternal life through good works.
I do not quote these words, however, as taking them in their literal signification, but, agreeably to the title of the book (for it is entitled "Proverbs"), I investigate them as containing a secret meaning.
See the marginal reference note. Note the word “people” applied here to ants, as to locusts in Joe 1:6. The marvel lies in their collective, and, as it were, organized action.
By the first (Pr 30:25-28), diligence and providence are commended; the success of these insignificant animals being due to their instinctive sagacity and activity, rather than strength. The other class (Pr 30:30, 31) provides similes for whatever is majestic or comely, uniting efficiency with gracefulness.
Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.
