Line by Line - Verse 73, Lines 4-5

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).
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Some things are not favored by heaven. Who knows why?
Even the sage is unsure of this.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

The one hated by Heaven – who knows the reason?
Even the sages still find this difficult
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

Why is life like that, you ask?
I don't know.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

These lines underscore one of the reasons I have embraced philosophical Taoism. While the Abrahamic religions pretend to look inside the mind of "God" to provide answers to unanswerable questions, the Taoist sages refused to play this game. They merely observed the world around them and described what they saw. Sometimes they were able to explain it and sometimes they were not able to do so.

They had no problem whatsoever with saying three simple words: I don't know.

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