The Meaning of Proverbs 6:6 Explained

Proverbs 6:6

KJV: Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:

YLT: Go unto the ant, O slothful one, See her ways and be wise;

Darby: Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways and be wise:

ASV: Go to the ant, thou sluggard; Consider her ways, and be wise:

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Go  to the ant,  thou sluggard;  consider  her ways,  and be wise: 

What does Proverbs 6:6 Mean?

Context Summary

Proverbs 6:1-19 - Avoid Suretyship And Sloth
A young man, being entreated by his friend to go bond for him, consents, in an easy-going way to become his surety. He promises to be responsible for the other's debt. From that moment he resembles a roe caught by a hunter or a bird snared by a fowler. If any shall have enmeshed himself in an obligation of this kind he is exhorted to spare no pains, to stand on no false pride, but to go with all urgency to the man for whom he has pledged his credit, and get released at all cost. If we can afford to be surety, we can afford to lend the money ourselves. If we cannot do the former, it is weak and foolish to do the latter.
The ants swarm in the woods and fields, and rebuke our laziness and thriftlessness. They work day and might, storing their galleries with food, building mounds which relatively to the size of the builders are three or four times larger than the Pyramids. In sickness they nurse one another; in the winter they feed on their supplies. Learn from the ceaseless industry of Nature, and do something worthy before sundown! [source]

Chapter Summary: Proverbs 6

1  against indebtedness
6  idleness
12  and mischievousness
16  seven things detestable to God
20  the blessings of obedience
25  the mischief of unfaithfulness

What do the individual words in Proverbs 6:6 mean?

Go you to the ant sluggard and Consider her ways and be wise
לֵֽךְ־ אֶל־ נְמָלָ֥ה עָצֵ֑ל רְאֵ֖ה דְרָכֶ֣יהָ וַחֲכָֽם

לֵֽךְ־  Go  you 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
נְמָלָ֥ה  the  ant 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: נְמָלָה  
Sense: ant.
עָצֵ֑ל  sluggard 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: עָצֵל  
Sense: sluggish, lazy.
רְאֵ֖ה  and  Consider 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
דְרָכֶ֣יהָ  her  ways 
Parse: Noun, common plural construct, third person feminine singular
Root: דֶּרֶךְ  
Sense: way, road, distance, journey, manner.
וַחֲכָֽם  and  be  wise 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: חָכַם  
Sense: to be wise.