Midrash su Salmi 10:9

R. Elazar b. R. Simon met the royal officer who was engaged in capturing thieves. "How can you capture them?" he asked him. "Are they not compared to wild beasts, of whom it is written: Wherein creep forth all the beasts of the forest." According to others, he quoted to him the following verse (Ib. 10, 9) He lieth in wait in a secret place like a lion in his den. "Perhaps you capture respectable men, and the wicked remain at large?" "What can I do?" replied the officer. "I am so ordered by the king." "If so, then I will instruct you how to proceed," said R. Elazar b. R. Simon to him. "Enter a wine-house at the fourth hour of the day, and if you find there a man drinking wine, holding his goblet and slumbering, make an investigation concerning him. If he is a scholar he was certainly engaged in his studies at night; if he is a day laborer, it may be that he performed his own work during the night; and if he was a night laborer, and it was not heard that he was working at night, still it must be investigated — perhaps he had done such labor that makes no noise. But if this man is nothing of this kind, he is surely a thief, and you may capture him." This advice was heard in the king's house, and it was decided that the one who dictated the letter be the carrier [i.e., he who advised should be the executor]. R. Elazar was thus brought and appointed to capture the thieves, and so he went on doing it. R. Joshua b. Karcha then sent word to him: "Vinegar son of wine (bad son of a good father), how long will you deliver people of the Lord for execution?" He answered: "I only destroy the thorns out of the vineyard." Whereupon R. Joshua sent to him again: "Let the owner of the vineyard (God) come and destroy his thorns." One day R. Elazar was met by a washman, who called him "Vinegar, son of wine;" and he thought, since he is so impudent, he must be wicked, and gave orders to capture him, which was done. When his wrath abated he tried to release him, but could not, and he applied to himself the verse (Pr. 21, 23) Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue, keepeth his soul from trouble. Finally the prisoner was to be hanged, and R. Elazar stood under the gallows and wept. Said the prisoner to him: "Rabbi, let it not be grievous to thy eyes, because I and my son have committed adultery on the Day of Atonement." He then, placing his hand on his abdomen, said: "Rejoice mine entrails! if cases in which you acted on doubts are so perfect, how much more perfect are your sure cases? I am sure that no worms of any kind shall have power over you." He nevertheless did not rest until he committed an operation upon his body, and after it showed by tests that no worm had any power over it, he applied the following passage to himself (Ps. 16, 9) Also my flesh shall rest in safety. The same case happened (Fol. 84) with R. Ishmael b. R. Jose, who was ordered by the government to capture thieves. Elijah met him and said: "How long will you deliver the people of the Lord for execution?" "What can I do? It is a royal appointment [which I cannot decline]." And Elijah rejoined: "Your father fled [from persecution] to Asia, flee you to Ladicia."