Provérbios 23:18 Midrash: Midrash Tehillim

To David: Do not compete with evildoers. As it says in Proverbs 23:17, "Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord." So why envy (them) in the fear of the Lord all day long? Do not envy the candle of the wicked, for you can see how much oil is in it, a quarter or an eighth, (yet) the entire oil (burns) and the candle goes out. And thus it says (in the same chapter, verse 18), "Surely there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off." And it says (verse 20), "The lamp of the wicked is snuffed out." This is its bright rule. Therefore, David says, "Do not compete with evildoers." Be zealous for a candle that never goes out, and whose candle does not go out. As it says (Proverbs 6:23), "For this command is a lamp, this teaching is a light, and correction and instruction are the way to life." Therefore, do not let your heart envy (them). The Lord said, "I am jealous because if there were no jealousy, the world would not exist. For if Abraham had not been jealous for the Lord, he would not have acquired heaven and earth." And when did he become jealous? When he said to the kings of righteousness, "How did you come out of the ark?" He said to him, "With righteousness that we did." He said to him, "What righteousness did you have to do, and were there poor people there? There was only Noah and his sons, so for whom did you do righteousness?" He said to him, "About the animals and the birds." We were not sleeping all night, but we were giving (food) to this one and to that one. Once we delayed ourselves and my father was injured. At that moment, Abraham said, "If these (people) had not done righteousness with animals, birds, and beasts, they would not have come out of there. And because he delayed himself, he almost received his reward and was injured. If I do (good) with human beings, who are in the image and likeness of angels, how much more will I benefit from the harm?" Immediately (Genesis 21:33), he planted a tamarisk tree. He ate, drank, and rejoiced. And Solomon said (Ecclesiastes 4:4), "And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person's envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind." Therefore, do not let your heart envy (them) in sin....

Psalm of Asaph, but good for Israel is God, to the pure of heart. As it is written (Psalms 37:1), "Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity." And likewise it says (Proverbs 24:20), "For there will be no prospect for the evil man; The lamp of the wicked will be put out." The Holy One, blessed be He, said: "If you see the candle of the wicked burning, do not envy them, for it is extinguished in the world to come," as it says (Proverbs 24:20), "The lamp of the wicked will be put out." And what should one envy? The fear of the Lord all day long, in something that has a good end and does not cease forever, as it says (Psalms 23:6), "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Asaph said, "I was envious of the boastful, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end" (Psalms 73:3,17). And for whom is it good? To the pure of heart, as it says (Psalms 24:3-4), "Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart." Asaph said, "I did not know that they were for their own good, and I was envious, and my feet almost stumbled" (Psalms 73:2). And why do the wicked have peace? It is because there are no constraints on their death, and they are healthy. "This woman spins wool from both picked and combed wool, and the spinning is not equal in both." But the wicked are not like that, for there are no constraints on their death, and they are healthy. Therefore, they have peace. "What are constraints? The Holy One, blessed be He, does not delay the glory of the wicked; whatever they ask for, they are given." Why is this similar to a sick person whom the doctor visited and took his spoon away, saying, "Give him whatever he wants to eat, for he is dying"? So Moses said to his enemies (Deuteronomy 32:41), "I will render vengeance to My enemies." Be aware that there are no constraints on their death, for they are healthy, and suffering does not touch them.