Evil men plot against the godly ¹  and viciously attack them. ² 

The little bit that a godly man owns is better than the wealth of many evil men, ¹ 

Evil men set an ambush for the godly and try to kill them. ¹ 

The godly bask in the light; the morally upright experience joy. ¹ 

The wicked become ¹  a ransom ²  for the righteous, and the faithless ³  are taken ⁴  in the place of the upright.

Give instruction ¹  to a wise person, ²  and he will become wiser still; teach ³  a righteous person and he will add to his ⁴  learning.

The righteous do not encounter ¹  any harm, ²  but the wicked are filled with calamity. ³ 

A benevolent ¹  person leaves an inheritance ²  for his grandchildren, ³  but the wealth of a sinner is stored up for the righteous. ⁴ 

Doing ¹  justice brings ²  joy to the righteous and terror ³  to those who do evil.

¹ The way of the righteous is level, the path of the righteous that you make is straight. ² 

Throw your burden ¹  upon the Lord, and he will sustain you. ²  He will never allow the godly to be upended. ³ 

Then ¹  observers ²  will say, “Yes indeed, the godly are rewarded! ³  Yes indeed, there is a God who judges ⁴  in the earth!”

It is terrible ¹  to punish ²  a righteous person, and to flog ³  honorable men is wrong. ⁴ 

From the ends of the earth we ¹  hear songs – the Just One is majestic. ²  But I ³  say, “I’m wasting away! I’m wasting away! I’m doomed! Deceivers deceive, deceivers thoroughly deceive!” ⁴ 

Everyone shares the same fate ¹  – the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, ²  the ceremonially clean and unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not. What happens to the good person, also happens to the sinner; ³  what happens to those who make vows, also happens to those who are afraid to make vows.

Suppose I tell the righteous that he will certainly live, but he becomes confident in his righteousness and commits iniquity. None of his righteous deeds will be remembered; because of the iniquity he has committed he will die.