ר (Resh) See my pain and rescue me! For I do not forget your law.

The wicked have no chance for deliverance, for they do not seek your statutes.

I take note of the treacherous and despise them, because they do not keep your instructions.

Look! Israel’s protector does not sleep or slumber!

“Since my youth they have often attacked me, but they have not defeated me.

Your knowledge is beyond my comprehension; it is so far beyond me, I am unable to fathom it.

Because they hated moral knowledge, and did not choose to fear the Lord,

None who go in to her will return, nor will they reach the paths of life.

She is more precious than rubies, and none of the things you desire can compare with her.

Then you will walk on your way with security, and you will not stumble.

When you lie down you will not be filled with fear; when you lie down your sleep will be pleasant.

The way of the wicked is like gloomy darkness; they do not know what causes them to stumble.

Lest she should make level the path leading to life, her paths are unstable but she does not know it.

For I did not obey my teachers and I did not heed my instructors.

Can a man hold fire against his chest without burning his clothes?

Can a man walk on hot coals without scorching his feet?

(She is loud and rebellious, she does not remain at home –

before he made the earth and its fields, or the beginning of the dust of the world.

Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit, but righteousness delivers from mortal danger.

The Lord satisfies the appetite of the righteous, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.