Line by Line - Verse 14, Line 9

and then it again returns and becomes nothing.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

It returns to nothingness.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

It returns back into nothingness
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

(No corresponding line)
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

Okay, there is this something that undergirds existence. But this thing can neither be seen, heard, felt nor comprehended. This unknown essence is tangible in the sense that life DOES exist and yet, on the other hand, it's nothing more than a wisp of a shadow glimpsed at the moment dusk turns to darkness.

It's as if this unknown quality contains the substance of nothingness and it returns to this nothingness over and over again.

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