| roots | pinyin, English |
| 禾刂 | hé grain, däo knife |
| homonym | |
| 利 | lì : help |
| sharp weapons | LY, WC, EC, RH, DC |
| sharpest weapons | AW, AL |
| sharp weapons and clever administrators | WW |
| sharp tools | PC |
| sharp implements | PI |
| sharp instruments | DL |
| sharpest instruments | AH |
| weapons | W1, FE, GR |
| potent weapons | CM |
| instruments of power | L1, L2 |
| honed instruments of power | DH |
| profit | JL |
| profitable instruments | VM |
| the means of furthering the realm | WO |
| best arms | C1 |
| greatest tool | RP |
| strength | JS |
MWD-A and FY have 'bang 邦' for 'guo'. MWD omits 'zhi'.
| sharp | JL, WO, PC, AW, WC, FE, EC, RH, L2, VM, RP, DC, DH, DL, CM, GR, AH, WW |
| fine | LY, C1, PI |
| well-crafted | JS |
| weapons | W1 |
| [omits] | L1, AL |
MWD-A missing 'jian'.
| “sharp weapons” | AW |
| sharp weapons | LY, WC, EC, RH, DC, DL |
| the sharper the weapons | W1, FE, AL, RP |
| sharp weapons and clever leaders | WW |
| sharpened tools | L1 |
| sharp implements | WO, PI |
| sharp instruments | AH |
| to add to their profit | JL |
| weapons | PC, JS, GR |
| arms | C1 |
| keen instruments | L2 |
| clever devices | VM |
| shrewd leaders | DH |
| lethal weapons | CM |
All versions agree, including GD.