01 / THE EARLY TEXT
The words themselves.
An interpretive English translation. Read the translation notes. Six and nine name line types; positions run from bottom to top.
革：巳日乃孚，元亨。利貞。悔亡。
Ge: Only when the day has come is there trust. Great success. A favorable determination. Regret disappears.
初九：鞏用黃牛之革。
Nine at the beginning: Bind securely with yellow oxhide.
六二：巳日乃革之，征吉，无咎。
Six in the second place: When the day has come, make the change. Advancing is auspicious; no blame.
九三：征凶，貞厲，革言三就，有孚。
Nine in the third place: Advancing is inauspicious; the determination is dangerous. When talk of change has been confirmed three times, there is trust.
九四：悔亡，有孚改命，吉。
Nine in the fourth place: Regret disappears. With trust, changing the mandate is auspicious.
九五：大人虎變，未占有孚。
Nine in the fifth place: The great person changes like a tiger. Even before consultation, there is trust.
上六：君子豹變，小人革面，征凶，居貞吉。
Six at the top: The noble person changes like a leopard; the petty person changes the face. Advancing is inauspicious. A determination for remaining is auspicious.
02 / A POSSIBLE CONTEXT
What might the question have been?
When can an old covering, calendar, or institution be replaced, and how will others come to trust the change?
A possible setting
Hide and renewed animal markings supply images of transformation. Political or ritual changes likewise require an appropriate time and public credibility. The day-name expression in this hexagram is disputed.
How the words respond
The early lines begin with firm restraint and delayed change. Repeated declarations precede confidence. Later lines permit changing a mandate and describe the striking patterns of tiger and leopard. The final line favors staying over further advance.
Renewal depends on timing and acceptance. The English wording leaves the uncertain calendrical expression open rather than silently identifying one day-name.
This scenario adapts the Chinese edition's historical reading. It is a possible reconstruction, not an established single event or the only interpretation.