Until now the author has been offering explanations for why the righteous suffer. Now he turns to discuss why we find that many wicked people prosper and lead pleasant lives:

But the good that G‑d, may He be blessed, performs on behalf of the wicked are for the following reasons:

אֲבָל טוֹבַת הָאֵל יִתְבָּרֵךְ עַל הָרָשָׁע:

1) There are some wicked people who prosper due to their previous good deeds for which G‑d rewards them in this world, as the verse states (Deuteronomy 7:10): And He repays those who hate Him, to their face, to cause them to perish, which one of the early commentators, Onkelos, translated as follows: “And he rewards those who hate him—for the good deeds that they have performed before him—in this world, in order to ultimately destroy them in the World to Come.”

יֵשׁ שֶׁתִּהְיֶה בַּעֲבוּר טוֹבָה שֶׁקָּדְמָה לוֹ יִגְמְלֵהוּ הָאֱלֹהִים עָלֶיהָ בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמַר "וּמְשַׁלֵּם לְשׂוֹנְאָיו אֶל פָּנָיו לְהַאֲבִידוֹ (דברים ז, י) וְתִרְגְּמוּ בּוֹ הָרִאשׁוֹנִים: "וּמְשַׁלֵּם לְסָנְאוֹהִי טָבָן דִּי אִנּוּן עָבְדִין קֳדָמוֹהִי בְּחַיֵּיהוֹן לְאוֹבָדֵיהוֹן."

G‑d does not withhold reward from anyone for the mitzvot that they perform. Nevertheless, G‑d chooses to reward the wicked for their good deeds in this world so that they will not need to be rewarded in the World to Come.

2) There are some wicked people whose good fortune is like a deposit to be kept by him, and it remains with him until G‑d will give him a righteous son who will be deserving of it. The wicked person only amasses wealth so that his righteous son can inherit it. As the verse states (Job 27:17): He will prepare, and a righteous man will wear them. Similarly, it says (Ecclesiastes 2:26): But to the sinner He has given an occupation to gather and to accumulate, to give to him who is good before G‑d.

וְיֵשׁ שֶׁתִּהְיֶה עַל דֶּרֶךְ הַפִּקָּדוֹן אֶצְלוֹ עַד שֶׁיִּתֵּן לוֹ הָאֵל יִתְבָּרֵךְ בֵּן צַדִּיק יִהְיֶה רָאוּי לָהּ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמַר "יָכִין וְצַדִּיק יִלְבָּשׁ" (איוב כז, יז), וְאָמַר "וְלַחוֹטֵא נָתַן עִנְיָן לֶאֱסוֹף וְלִכְנוֹס לָתֵת לְטוֹב לִפְנֵי הָאֱלֹהִים" (קהלת ב, כו).

In this case, the reason why the wicked person is given wealth is solely due to the fact that his son will be righteous and thus deserving of inheritance.
Sometimes, the wealth of the wicked, although superficially positive, is actually the cause of their downfall, as the author continues:

3) It is possible that the wicked person is given good so that it will be the main cause for his death or his bad fortune, as it is written (Ecclesiastes 5:12): Riches kept by their owner for his harm.

וְאֶפְשָׁר שֶׁתִּהְיֶה הַסִּבָּה הַגְּדוֹלָה שֶׁבְּסִבּוֹת מוֹתוֹ וְרָעָתוֹ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב "עֹשֶׁר שָׁמוּר לִבְעָלָיו לְרָעָתוֹ" (קהלת ה, יב).

Riches kept by their owner for his harm. Rashi on this verse offers the example of Korach, whose wealth—the cause for his haughtiness—ultimately led to his being swallowed by the earth.

4) Additionally, it is possible that despite being wicked, the Creator allows him to have good fortune for a while until he repents and will be deserving of it, as we know from the story of King Manasseh.

וְאֶפְשָׁר שֶׁתִּהְיֶה לְהַאֲרִיךְ הַבּוֹרֵא יִתְעַלֶּה לוֹ עַד שֶׁיָּשׁוּב וְיִהְיֶה רָאוּי לָהּ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁיָּדַעְתָּ מֵעִנְיַן מְנַשֶּׁה.

In certain cases where the wicked person will eventually repent, G‑d allows him good fortune even before he repents, as we see with King Manasseh of Judah. Although he was so wicked that he caused massive idolatry among the Jewish people in his kingdom, G‑d did not remove his kingdom from him, because G‑d knew that he would ultimately repent, as is recorded in II Chronicles (ch. 33).

5) There are some wicked people who might be given good fortune due to an act of kindness that his father performed, and therefore it is fitting for G‑d to be kind to the son as a result.

וְיֵשׁ שֶׁתִּהְיֶה לְחֶסֶד שֶׁקָּדַם אָבִיו וְהָיָה רָאוּי לְהֵיטִיב לִבְנוֹ בַּעֲבוּרוֹ,

In this case, the person is rewarded for his ancestors’ good deeds.
A number of verses are now quoted as proof that G‑d rewards a person’s children for the good deeds of their ancestors:

As G‑d said to Jehu son of Nimshi (II Kings 10:30): Your descendants of the fourth generation shall occupy the throne of Israel, and (Proverbs 20:7): He who walks innocently is righteous; fortunate are his sons after him. Similarly, it says (Psalms 37:25): I was young, I also aged, and I have not seen a righteous man forsaken and his children seeking bread.

כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמַר לְיֵהוּא בֶּן נִמְשִׁי "בְּנֵי רְבִיעִים יֵשְׁבוּ לְךָ עַל כִּסֵּא יִשְׂרָאֵל" (מלכים ב' י, ל), וְאָמַר "מִתְהַלֵּךְ בְּתֻמּוֹ צַדִּיק אַשְׁרֵי בָנָיו אַחֲרָיו" (משלי כ, ז), וְאָמַר "נַעַר הָיִיתִי גַּם זָקַנְתִּי וְלֹא רָאִיתִי צַדִּיק נֶעֱזָב וְזַרְעוֹ מְבַקֶּשׁ לָחֶם" (תהלים לז, כה).

Jehu son of Nimshi. Jehu was a righteous king of Israel who destroyed the evil kingdom of Ahab. As a reward he was promised that four generations of his descendants would be kings.

The reason why Jehu was promised sovereignty was because he eradicated an evil kingdom. His reward was measure for measure. This demonstrates that a wicked person can enjoy good in this life, but it is for a specific reason, and it does not necessarily reflect his overall character ( Pat Lechem ).

6) There are some wicked people who G‑d makes prosper for the purpose of testing who is pretending to be righteous to deceive others and who is hiding their wickedness out of fear of other people. When these people see the success of the wicked, they hasten to turn away from the service of the Creator and try to appease the wicked and learn from their ways. As a result, it will become clear which people are whole-hearted in their service of G‑d, and which are truly loyal in their service of G‑d, when they tolerate the times when others rule over them and embarrass them for it. They will be rewarded by the Creator for this, as we know from the story of Elijah, who was pursued by Jezebel; and similarly with Jeremiah, who was persecuted by the rulers of his generation.

וְיֵשׁ שֶׁתִּהְיֶה לְנַסּוֹת אַנְשֵׁי הַתַּרְמִית וְהַמַּצְפּוּנִים הָרָעִים, כְּשֶׁהֵם רוֹאִים זֶה מְמַהֲרִים לָסוּר מֵעֲבוֹדַת הַבּוֹרֵא וְחָשִׁים לְהִתְרַצּוֹת אֶל אַנְשֵׁי הָרֶשַׁע וְלִלְמוֹד מִמַּעֲשֵׂיהֶם, וְיִתְבָּרֵר הַנָּבָר לֵאלֹהִים וְיֵרָאֶה הַנֶּאֱמָן בַּעֲבוֹדָתוֹ, בְּסָבְלוֹ עֵת שֶׁשּׁוֹלְטִין בּוֹ וּמְבַיְּשִׁין אוֹתוֹ, וִיקַבֵּל שָׂכָר מֵהַבּוֹרֵא יִתְעַלֶּה עַל זֶה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁיָּדַעְתָּ מֵעִנְיַן אֵלִיָּהוּ עִם אִיזֶבֶל, וְיִרְמְיָהוּ עִם מַלְכֵי דוֹרוֹ.

In this instance, the wicked are prosperous in order to tempt those people who until now were only wicked in private to do so publicly, so that others will be aware of their true colors.