昔者殷王帝辛之時，爵生烏於城之隅。
In former times, during the reign of Di Xin of the Yin dynasty, a sparrow gave birth to a crow at a corner of the city wall.
工人占之曰：『凡小以生巨，國家必祉，王名必倍。
A palace expert made a prognostication on this event and said, ‘Whenever something small gives birth to something large, the state will enjoy blessings, and the renown of the king will be redoubled.’ Pleased at the augury of the sparrow, Di Xin ignored affairs of state and grew violent beyond measure.
』帝辛喜爵之德，不治國家，亢暴無極，外寇乃至，遂亡殷國。
Enemy troops arrived, and the Yin dynasty perished.
此逆天之時，詭福反為禍也。
During the reign of Wu Ding, when the way of the former kings had declined, and the administration of punishments had gone slack, a mulberry tree and a chu tree sprang up in the royal courtyard and within seven days grew great in size.
至殷王武丁之時，先王道缺，刑法弛，桑穀俱生於朝，七日而大拱。
A palace expert made a prognostication and said, ‘Mulberry trees and wheat are things that grow in the wild.
工人占之曰：『桑穀者，野物也。
Surely the appearance of wild plants in the royal courtyard must mean that the dynasty will perish!’ Wu Ding was afraid when he heard this and applied himself to improving his behavior.
野物生於朝，意朝亡乎？
Remembering the way in which the former kings had governed, he restored states that had been extinguished, reestablished lineages that had been broken off, raised to office worthies living in seclusion, and set a public example in nourishing the aged.
』武丁恐駭，側身修行，思昔先王之政，興滅國，繼絕世，舉逸民，明養老之道。
Within three years, six states so remote that the speeches of their emissaries had to go through multiple translations sent representatives to Wu Ding’s court.
三年之後，遠方之君重譯而朝者六國。
“This shows that, when one acts in accord with Heaven, one can convert disasters into blessings.
此迎天之時，得禍反為福也。
From this it can be seen that malevolent spirits are the means used by Heaven to provide warnings to Sons of Heaven and to territorial rulers, and that evil dreams are the means used to provide warnings to court officers and men-of-service.
故妖孽者，天所以警天子諸侯也；惡夢者，所以警士大夫也。
Hence we see that malevolent spirits cannot defeat good government, and evil dreams cannot defeat good behavior.
故妖孽不勝善政，惡夢不勝善行也。
Good government in its highest form converts disasters into blessings.
至治之極，禍反為福。
」故太甲曰：「天作孽，猶可違，自作孽，不可逭。」
Thus, Tai Jia said, ‘When Heaven sends evil omens, the consequences can be overturned; but, when a person does evil himself, the consequences cannot be evaded.