;

In sum, when in battle

Critical Text

凡	戰	者	以	正	合
fan	zhan	zhe	yi	zheng	he
all	battle	one-who	take	orthodox	engage

以	奇	勝	故	善	出
yi	qi	sheng	gu	shan	chu
take	extraordinary	victory	thus	good	emit

奇	者	無	窮	如	天
qi	zhe	wu	qiong	ru	tian
extraordinary	one-who	without	exhaust	like	heaven

地	無	竭	如	河	海
di	wu	jie	ru	he	hai
earth	without	exhaust	like	river	ocean

終	而	復	始	日	月
zhong	er	fu	shi	ri	yue
end	and	again	begin	sun	moon

是	也	死	而	更	生
shi	ye	si	er	geng	sheng
this	(period)	die	and	again	live

四	時	是	也
si	shi	shi	ye
four	season	this	(period)

Yinqueshan Text

。。。窮如天地無竭如河海冬而復始日月是也。。。

Shiyijia zhu Text

凡戰者以正合以奇勝故善出奇者無窮如天地不竭如江海終而復始日月是也死而更生四時是也

Translation

In sum, when in battle, use the orthodox to engage. Use the extraordinary to attain victory. And so one skilled at giving rise to the extraordinary is as boundless as heaven and earth, as inexhaustible as the Yellow River and the ocean. Ending and beginning again, it is the sun and the moon. Dying and then being born, it is the four seasons.

Annotations

The Yinqueshan text has "as inexhaustible as hehai 河海 (the Yellow River and the ocean)," the Shiyijia zhu has jianghe 江河 (the Yangtse and Yelow Rivers), and various other texts jianghai 江海 (the Yangtse River and the ocean). We follow the Yinqueshan text.