Line by Line - Verse 64, Line 10

He who acts (with an ulterior purpose) does harm;
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

He who acts defeats his own purpose;
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

The one who meddles will fail
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

When you try too hard, you defeat your own purpose.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

This is one of those lines that translators seem to translate differently. The three translations above are similar, but not completely congruent.

John H. McDonald translates this line thus:

If you rush into action, you will fail.

Personally, I find more resonance with this translation than the others (though this certainly doesn't mean it is the more accurate one.)

When we rush into things, it generally means we haven't thought the situation completely through. It is when we discount or ignore variables and factors that our chances for success become greatly diminished.

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