"For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish." This is what is written in Proverbs 15:3, "The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good." How do we know that the Lord saw that Leah was hated? Genesis 29:31 says, "When the Lord saw that Leah was hated."
The way of the wicked will perish. Rabbi Elikim said that the Lord destroyed the way of the wicked so that the righteous would not be led astray by it. Rabbi Elazar said that the way of the wicked was already lost, but the Lord gave it to them to trouble them, as it says in Proverbs 3:34, "He mocks the mockers." You should know this, as it says in Numbers 22:18-19, when Balaam sent for Balaam to curse Israel, Balaam said, "If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I would not be able to go beyond the word of the Lord to do either good or bad of my own will."
The Lord then appeared to Balaam and told him not to go with the men. Balaam said, "I must go, but I will curse them from there." The Lord then said to him, "Do not go with them." Rabbi Tanhuma says that they say to a wasp, "Not your honey or your sting."
Rabbi Berachia said that when the Lord wanted to create man and bless him, He saw the righteous and the wicked standing before Him. He said, "If I create him, the wicked will stand before Me, and if I do not create him, how will the righteous stand?" What did the Lord do? He turned away the path of the wicked from before Him and shared with them the attribute of mercy and created him.
This is what is meant by "For the Lord knows the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked will perish." Another explanation is that "and the way of the wicked will perish" means that Nimrod lost his power because of Abraham, Abimelech because of Isaac, and Esau because of Jacob. Therefore, it says, "For the Lord knows the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked will perish." Another explanation is from Isaiah 66:14, "The hand of the Lord shall be known to His servants, and His indignation to His enemies.
"When (HaSham) will avenge his enemies?" Rabbi Yochanan said, "The Holy One, blessed be He, stands in judgment with the righteous and the wicked, and He judges the righteous and rewards them with the Garden of Eden, and He judges the wicked and condemns them to Gehenna. The wicked say, 'You have not judged us properly, for to those who sought merit, You granted it, and to those who sought punishment, You sentenced them.'
The Holy One, blessed be He, says, 'I did not seek to publicize you.' What does the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He summons the agents of Gehenna and they take them down to Gehenna. Rabbi Pinchas said, 'Anyone who is absolutely sinful cannot repent, and he has no eternal forgiveness.'
The Holy One, blessed be He, says to the wicked, 'You kindled the fire of Gehenna (Proverbs 26:21), coals for burning, and wood for the fire, and I shall avenge Myself upon you with the judgment of judgments.' Rabbi Hunah, in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, said, "They shall go forth and look upon the corpses of the men who have rebelled against Me; for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched" (Isaiah 66:24). This is said only of the wicked who are still going and sinning.