A source-first reading note for Hexagram 40, Jie (Deliverance), with a reference translation, trigram frame, and one reversible observation practice.
Reference translation
Deliverance. The southwest is favorable. If there be no further need to go forth, return brings good fortune. If there yet remains somewhere to go, then early action brings good fortune. The Image says: Deliverance. Amid peril there is movement; through movement one escapes from peril — this is Deliverance. "Deliverance: the southwest is favorable" — going forth one wins the multitude. "Return brings good fortune" — thus the mean is attained. "If there remains somewhere to go, early action brings good fortune" — going forth brings achievement. Heaven and earth deliver themselves, and thunder and rain arise. When thunder and rain arise, the seeds of all fruits, plants, and trees burst their sheaths. Great indeed is the time of Deliverance!
See the original-text and authority layers in the complete catalog entry.
Context from the authority layer
To resolve through movement, and through movement to bring resolution—this is the true meaning of the Jie hexagram. As for the hexagram's image, in the Jie hexagram, 358. Among the six lines of the Zhouyi, except for the upper six, none occupy their proper positions. More seriously, the second and fifth lines, which hold the central positions, are both out of place and improper. Hence there is the image of many difficulties. Where difficulties abound, relief becomes necessary; and to relieve such difficulties, action must be taken.
Read the structure before the slogan
The lower trigram is 坎 (水), associated in the bundled corpus with 陷; the upper trigram is 震 (雷), associated with 动. Read the lower trigram as the inner or starting field and the upper trigram as the outward field before turning the pattern into advice.
One accountable observation practice
Copy one concrete verb, condition, or image from the reference translation for Hexagram 40. Name one place where it is observable in the situation you are examining. Then choose one small step you can reverse and write the condition that would make you review it.
Common misread to avoid
Do not turn Deliverance into a personality label, a guaranteed event, or a verdict about another person. The translation and trigram frame are source layers to examine, not an instruction to surrender judgment.
Source boundary
The reference translation and context are drawn from Yarrow's bundled structured Zhouyi authority layer. Yarrow keeps that layer separate from optional modern reflection. This page does not claim that Hexagram 40 was cast for your question.