天之道，其犹张弓与？高者抑下，下者举之，有余者损之，不足者补之。天之道，损有余而补不足。人之道，则不然，损不足以奉有余。孰能有余以奉天下，唯有道者。是以圣人为而不恃，功成而不处，其不欲见贤。
Is not the way of heaven like the stretching of a bow?
The high it presses down,
The low it lifts up;
The excessive it takes from,
The deficient it gives to.
It is the way of heaven to take from what has in excess in order tomake good what is deficient.
The way of man is otherwise: it takes from those who are in want inorder to offer this to those who already have more than enough.
Who is there that can take what he himself has in excess and offerthis to the empire?
Only he who has the way.
Therefore the sage benefits them yet exacts no gratitude,
Accomplishes his task yet lays claim to no merit.
Is this not because he does not wish to be considered a better man thanothers?
Heaven's way is like the bending of a bow. When a bow is bent the top comes down and the bottom-end comes up.
So too does Heaven take away from those who have too much, and give to those that have not enough. But if it is Heaven's way to take from those who have too much and give to those who have not enough, this is far from being man's way. He takes away from those that have not-enough in order to make offering to those who already have too much. One there is and one only, so rich that he the possessor of Tao. (If, then, the Sage “though he controls does not lean, and when he has achieved his aim does not linger”, it is because he does not wish to reveal himself as better than others.)
May not the Way (or Dao) of Heaven be compared to the (method of) bending a bow? The (part of the bow) which was high is brought low, and what was low is raised up. (So Heaven) diminishes where there is superabundance, and supplements where there is deficiency. It is the Way of Heaven to diminish superabundance, and to supplement deficiency. It is not so with the way of man. He takes away from those who have not enough to add to his own superabundance. Who can take his own superabundance and therewith serve all under heaven? Only he who is in possession of the Dao! Therefore the (ruling) sage acts without claiming the results as his; he achieves his merit and does not rest (arrogantly) in it: - he does not wish to display his superiority.