What scriptures note fleeting wicked success?
Which other scriptures emphasize the transient success of the wicked?

Setting the Scene: Job 24:18

“ They are foam on the surface of the water; their portion of the land is cursed, so that no one turns toward the road to their vineyards.” (Job 24:18)

Job pictures wicked success like froth—glittering for a moment, gone with the next wave. Scripture repeats this theme again and again.


Echoes in Job’s Own Dialogue

Job 20:5 – “the triumph of the wicked has been brief and the joy of the godless momentary”

Job 20:7–8 – they “perish forever” and “fly away like a dream”

Job 27:13–20 – wealth swallowed by sword, flood, or night thief


The Psalms: Heart-Level Snapshots of Fleeting Evil

Psalm 37:1-2 – evildoers “wither quickly like grass”

Psalm 37:9-10 – “Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more”

Psalm 73:17-20 – wicked placed “on slick ground,” “laid waste in an instant,” “like a dream when one awakens”

Psalm 49:16-17 – “Do not be afraid when a man enriches himself… he will take nothing with him when he dies”


Proverbs: Street-Wise Wisdom on Short-Lived Success

Proverbs 10:25 – “When the whirlwind passes, the wicked are no more”

Proverbs 11:7 – “When the wicked man dies, his hope perishes”

Proverbs 24:19-20 – “the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be extinguished”


Wisdom Literature Beyond Proverbs

Ecclesiastes 8:12-13 – long-lived sin still ends badly: “It will not be well for the wicked”

Ecclesiastes 9:12 – sudden nets and snares catch the unsuspecting sinner


Prophetic Voices

Isaiah 17:14 – “In the evening, there is sudden terror; before morning, they are gone”

Jeremiah 12:1-3 – apparent prosperity reserved “for the day of slaughter”

Habakkuk 2:6-8 – plunderers’ gain turns into the very debt that consumes them

Malachi 3:15 – God records every boast and answers it in judgment (3:18–4:3)


New Testament Confirmation

Luke 12:20 – rich fool’s soul required “this very night”

James 1:11 – rich man “fades away even while he goes about his business”

1 John 2:17 – “The world is passing away along with its desires”

Revelation 18:10 – Babylon’s empire falls “in a single hour”


Patterns to Notice

• Similes of brevity: foam, grass, chaff, shadow, dream, whirlwind.

• Sudden reversals: evening ease → morning ruin; banquet wealth → graveyard silence.

• Certain outcome: the righteous inherit permanence; the wicked inherit disappearance.


Living Truth

God’s Word underscores the same sober reality from Job to John: evil may glitter, but it cannot last. The apparent advantage of the wicked is a mirage—brief, fragile, and headed for judgment—while those who fear the Lord step into an everlasting inheritance.

How can Job 24:18 deepen our understanding of divine retribution?
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