beck

The Way of Heaven
Those brave in killing will be killed.
Those brave in not killing will live.
Of these two, one is good, and one is harmful.
Some are not favored by heaven. Who knows why?
Even the wise consider it a difficult question.

The Way of heaven does not strive; yet it wins easily.
It does not speak; yet it gets a good response.
It does not demand; yet all needs are met.
It is not anxious; yet it plans well.
The net of heaven is vast;
its meshes are wide, but nothing slips through.

blakney

Its mesh is coarse but none are lost ...

A brave man who dares to, will kill;
A brave man who dares not, spares life;
And from them both come good and ill;
"God hates some folks, but who knows why?"
The Wise Man hesitates there too:
God's Way is bound to conquer all
But not by strife does it proceed.

Not by words does God get answers:
He calls them not and all things come.
Master plans unfold but slowly,
Like God's wide net enclosing all:
Its mesh is coarse but none are lost.

byrn

Who is brave in daring can kill or get killed [on a bus].
On the other hand, one who is brave in not daring, can survive or give life. Either approach can be profitable or unprofitable, still one of them is harmful.
Who is brave in non-daring without ado lets live. There can be some advantage and some disadvantage in each approach -

Now, "Dao-heaven hates the one it hates, hates what it hates; and none can know the reason why." Who knows why and what it dislikes? Heaven dislikes certain people; but the wise man considers it a tricky question. Yes, why heaven seems to hate - even a wise man regards it as a tricky question.

Well, it's in the fixed dao sets of heaven not to strive in the open, but none the less to conquer. Not to compete, but all the same win expertly. Be good at conquest without strife.

Dao hardly speaks, it skilfully responds. It comes without skilful invitation, it can appear without a call. It doesn't seem anxious about things and yet it shows up it plans very well. It gets able results without obvious design, as from hidden, laid, [broad] plans and schemes. [Say little, foster well laid schemes and designs.]

Dao-heaven's net is wide, with big, coarse meshes. Still it misses nothing. Nothing slips through.

feng

A brave and passionate man will kill or be killed.
A brave and calm man will always preserve life.
Of these two which is good and which is harmful?
Some things are not favored by heaven. Who knows why?
Even the sage is unsure of this.

The Tao of heaven does not strive, and yet it overcomes.
It does not speak, and yet is answered.
It does not ask, yet is supplied with all its needs.
It seems to have no aim and yet its purpose is fulfilled.

Heaven's net casts wide.
Though its meshes are course, nothing slips through.

ganson

One of courage, with audacity, will kill.
One of courage, but gentle, spares life.
From these two kinds of courage
arise harm and benefit.

Even if Tao dislikes certain people,
who can say why?
The truly wise regard this
as a most difficult question.

Tao does not contend but it surely wins,
does not speak but it surely responds,
does not command but things come of themselves.
It is empty yet contains the master plan.

The net of Tao is all-encompassing,
its meshes are wide, yet nothing is lost.

gnl

Fate
Who is brave and bold will perish;
Who is brave and subtle will benefit.
The subtle profit where the bold perish
For fate does not honour daring.
And even the sage dares not tempt fate.

Fate does not attack, yet all things are conquered by it;
It does not ask, yet all things answer to it;
It does not call, yet all things meet it;
It does not plan, yet all things are determined by it.

Fate's net is vast and its mesh is coarse,
Yet none escape it.

hansen

Employing Deeming
If one is courageously presumptuous, then--killing.
If one is courageously non-presumptuous, then--living.
These pairings : one benefits, one harms.
That which nature despises, who knows its cause?
Using this, sages make it even more difficult.
The natural guide does not contend and yet is good at winning.
Does not discourse and yet skillfully responds.
Does not call and yet comes of itself.
Insensate and yet good at planning.
The natural net is all encompassing.
It is loose and yet nothing is lost.

legge

He whose boldness appears in his daring (to do wrong, in
defiance of the laws) is put to death; he whose boldness appears in
his not daring (to do so) lives on. Of these two cases the one
appears to be advantageous, and the other to be injurious. But

When Heaven's anger smites a man,
Who the cause shall truly scan?

On this account the sage feels a difficulty (as to what to do in the
former case).

It is the way of Heaven not to strive, and yet it skilfully
overcomes; not to speak, and yet it is skilful in (obtaining a reply;
does not call, and yet men come to it of themselves. Its
demonstrations are quiet, and yet its plans are skilful and effective.
The meshes of the net of Heaven are large; far apart, but letting
nothing escape.

mccarroll

A person whose courage lies in daring will meet death.
A person whose courage lies in not daring
will encounter life.
Of the two courses, either may be beneficial or harmful.

Heaven dislikes what it dislikes.
Who knows the reason why?
Even the True Person has difficulty with such a question.

The Tao of Heaven
does not strive and yet it overcomes,
does not speak and yet it gets responses,
does not beckon and yet it attracts,
is at ease and yet it follows a plan.

The net of heaven is cast wide.
Though the mesh is coarse, nothing ever slips through.

mcdonald

Being overbold and confidant is deadly.
The wise use of caution will keep you alive.

One is the way to death,
and the other is the way to preserve your life.
Who can understand the workings of Heaven?

The Tao of the universe
does not compete, yet wins;
does not speak, yet responds;
does not command, yet is obeyed;
and does act, but is good at directing.

The nets of Heaven are wide,
but nothing escapes its grasp.

merel

Fate

Who is brave and bold may die;
Who is brave and subtle may live.
Which course best serves one's purpose?
Fate favours some and destroys others.
The sage does not know why.

Fate does not contend, yet all things are conquered by it;
It does not ask, yet all things answer to it;
It does not call, yet all things come to it;
It does not plan, yet all things are determined by it.

Fate's hands are vast, its fingers spread wide,
Yet none slip through its grasp.

merel2

Revolution
When people have nothing more to lose,
Then revolution will result.
Do not take away their lands,
And do not destroy their livelihoods;
If your burden is not heavy then they will not shirk it.
The sage maintains himself but exacts no tribute,
Values himself but requires no honours;
He ignores abstraction and accepts substance.

mitchell

The Tao is always at ease.
It overcomes without competing,
answers without speaking a word,
arrives without being summoned,
accomplishes without a plan.

Its net covers the whole universe.
And though its meshes are wide,
it doesn't let a thing slip through.

muller

If you are courageous in daring you will die.
If you are courageous in not-daring you will live.
Among these two, one is beneficial and the other is harmful.

Who understands the reason why Heaven dislikes what it dislikes?
Even the sage has difficulty in knowing this.

The Way of Heaven is to win easily without struggle.
To respond well without words,
To naturally come without special invitation,
To plan well without anxiety.

Heaven's net is vast.
It is loose.

Yet nothing slips through.

rosenthal

ACTING WITH A SUFFICIENCY
A brave man who is passionate
will either kill or be killed,
but a man who is both brave and still
might preserve his own and others' lives.
No one can say with certainty,
why it is better to preserve a life.

The virtuous way is a way to act
without contriving effort,
yet, without contriving it overcomes.
It seldom speaks, and never asks,
but is answered without a question.
It is supplied with all its needs
and is constantly at ease
because it follows its own plan
which cannot be understood by man.
It casts its net both deep and wide,
and 'though coarse meshed, it misses nothing in the tide.