Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.I am a bit confused by this biblical passage because the word sluggard means an idler or lazy person. Removing the word, sluggard, from the passage makes it sound more in tune with Taoist thought.
~ King James version ~
Watching how other creatures live via their internal nature can be quite informative.
~ possible Taoist alternative ~
Beholding the world of nature around us provides apt example of other beings who lead lives in tune with Tao. While a human is not an ant, ants can teach humans a lot!
If you're interested in reading more from this experimental series, go to the Tao Bible Index page.
My Oxford Annotated Bible (RSV) says:
ReplyDeleteThe sluggard who makes no provision for future needs can learn a lesson from the ants.
The translation is "Go to the ant, O sluggard,consider her ways and be wise."
Not so confusing, really.
I agree. The RSV makes the verse much clearer to me.
ReplyDeleteReally? On second thought (after reading your post about comments on these series) I revisited myy own thinking. If you were trying to take the "lazy idler" out of the equation...well, then just what lesson are we learning from the ants? To march in a line!
ReplyDeleteI do prefer "O" to "thou".
Have you ever used the word "sluggard" in a conversation? I intend to try to three times today!