Line by Line - Verse 53, Line 5

Their court(-yards and buildings) shall be well kept,
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

When the court is arrayed in splendor,
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

The courts are corrupt
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

"When the king's palace is full of treasure,"
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

When the sky is filled with clouds, we don't see the sun. When the water in a stream is turbid, we can't see the bottom, if applicable, or much of anything that's in the water. In this same vein, when one segment of society has more than enough, you can be assured that another segment of society will struggle to eke out the bare minimum.

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