Hand to Hand, the Evil One Will Not Go Unpunished

"Hand to hand, the evil one will not go unpunished" (Proverbs 11:21). Come and see: a person has two hands. If he steals with one and gives charity with the other, he will not go unpunished. So too, in the time to come the Holy One, blessed be He, says to the wicked: Two worlds I created for you, one in which to do good deeds, and one in which to receive reward. Now, since you did not do good deeds in this world in which you were, do you ask for reward?! Just as a person whom I created with two hands -- with one he does a transgression and with one he does charity -- it is written, "Hand to hand, the evil one will not go unpunished," and yet you suppose to be saved from the judgment of Gehinnom?! The evil one will not go unpunished! Rabbi Yochanan said: A parable to a certain man who went and committed a transgression and gave the harlot her fee, and he had not managed to get out of the doorway of her house before a poor man met him. He said to him: Give me charity. He gave to him and went on his way, and that man said, "Were it not that the Holy One, blessed be He, wished to atone for my iniquities, He would not have sent me that poor man, that I might give him charity and it would atone for me for what I have done." The Holy One, blessed be He, says to him: Wicked one! Do not think so; rather, go and learn from the wisdom of Solomon, who explained and said, "Hand to hand, the evil one will not go unpunished." Another interpretation: "Hand to hand, the evil one will not go unpunished" -- Rabbi Eliezer asked Rabbi Yehoshua: What is "hand to hand, the evil one will not go unpunished"? Just as this hand, which feeds its fellow -- if a person does a commandment with one and becomes liable with one, this does not atone for that, as it is written, "hand to hand, the evil one will not go unpunished." A person who has a matter between himself and his fellow, and he swears with his mouth and nullifies it in his heart -- would you say that he is cleared? Scripture teaches, "hand to hand." It is said here "will not go unpunished," and it is said in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:7): "for He will not clear" -- just as the saying there is about an oath, so too here it is about an oath. Rabbi Elazar said: Not so; rather, the end of the verse is explicit, "but the seed of the righteous shall escape." If you saw a righteous person who is the son of forefathers -- he does not sin quickly. Why? Because he reckons and says: I will deny my impulse for an hour and not lose my world for an hour, and thus he is found to escape from the judgment of Gehinnom; therefore it is said, "but the seed of the righteous shall escape." But the wicked one does not say so; rather, he goes to a harlot and makes her swear an oath in order to satisfy the desire of his soul and his impulse, and afterward he transgresses the oath, and the Holy Spirit swears at him and says: Is it not enough for you that you committed a transgression, but you also mentioned my Name over a matter of falsehood?! By your life, you shall not go unpunished from the judgment of Gehinnom! Rabbi Simon said: Why does it call him "evil"? Because of the evil impulse, which is called "evil," as it is said (Genesis 8:21): "for the impulse of a person's heart is evil from his youth," and it is evil, as it is said, "the evil one will not go unpunished." And it is written, "but the seed of the righteous shall escape," for the Holy One, blessed be He, puts into the hearts of the righteous that they should not sin, so that they may be saved from the judgment of Gehinnom. Another interpretation: "but the seed of the righteous shall escape" -- these are the sons of Noah, who escaped from the Flood by the merit of Noah.