Line by Line - Verse 55, Line 2

Poisonous insects will not sting him;
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Wasps and serpents will not sting him;
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Poisonous insects do not sting them
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

bees can't sting him,
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

Needless to say, this line (and the next two) is not to be taken literally. If you set your child on a yellowjacket's nest, chances are very good that the poor child would be stung left and right! Derek Lin tells us that "poisonous insects represent the sting of malicious gossip."

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