Freedom from fear: 'Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked.' 'Sudden disaster' (pachad peta'om) speaks to the anxiety that calamity might strike without warning. 'Ruin that overtakes the wicked' recalls the fate of those who reject wisdom. The young person is assured that the sudden collapse that befalls the foolish will not overtake the righteous. This does not promise immunity from all difficulty but rather assurance that the comprehensive ruin of the wicked will not be his fate. The verse invites the young person to compare his security in wisdom to the precariousness of the wicked's position.

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