Even the wicked see prosperity as long as evil has not matured. But when evil matures, the wicked see evil.

Pāpopi passati bhadraṃ — even the wicked see prosperity: bhadra is good, auspicious, prosperity. One who acts badly may see prosperity for a time — this is the “problem of the prosperous wicked” that has unsettled all religious traditions.

Yāva pāpaṃ na paccati — as long as evil has not matured: the Buddhist answer is not that the wicked are punished by God but that consequences mature in their own time. Visible prosperity is temporary.

Yadā ca paccati pāpaṃ — but when evil matures: the maturation process is inevitable. It is not divine punishment but natural law of karma. Prosperity built on harmful actions has unstable foundations that eventually reveal themselves.

The verse is a realistic commentary on the apparent prosperity of the unjust. It requires temporal perspective: not the present moment but the complete process of action maturation. This perspective is one of the fruits of spiritual discernment.