King Wan is departed. Oh! bright is his memory. Although Kau was an old country, The (favouring) appointment lighted on it recently. Illustrious was the House of Kau, And the appointment of God came at the proper season. King Wan has returned to God, and is in His mercy.

Full of earnest activity was king Wan, And his fame is without end. The gifts (of God) to Kau Extend to the descendants of king Wan, In the direct line and the collateral branches for a hundred generations. All the officers of Kau Shall (also) be illustrious from age to age.

They shall be illustrious from age to age, Zealously and reverently pursuing their plans. Admirable are the many officers, Born in this royal kingdom. The royal kingdom is able to produce them, The supporters of (the House of) Kau. Numerous is the array of officers, And by them the name of king Wan is honoured.

Profound was king Wan; Oh! continuous and bright was his feeling of reverence. Great is the decree of God! There were the descendants of (the sovereigns of) Shang—The descendants of the sovereigns of Shang Were in number more than hundreds of thousands. But when God gave the command, They became subject to Kau.

They became subject to Kau, (For) the decree of God is not unchangeable. The officers of Yin, admirable and alert, Assist at the offerings in our capital. They assist at those offerings, Always wearing the hatchet-figures on their lower garments and their peculiar cap. O ye loyal ministers of the king, Ever think of your ancestor!

Ever think of your ancestor, Cultivating your virtue, Always seeking to accord with the will (of God):—So shall you be seeking for much happiness, Before Yin lost the multitudes, (Its kings) ruled as servants of God's will. Look to Yin as a beacon; The great appointment is not easily preserved.

The appointment is not easily (preserved):—Do not cause your own extinction. Display and make bright your righteousness and fame, And look at (the fate of) Yin in the light of God's decree. The doings of God on high Have neither sound nor smell. Take your pattern from king Wan, And the myriad regions will repose confidence in you.