Punishment of the wicked

Evil people shall be punished because of:

Lack of knowledge of God

2 Thessalonians 1:3

We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.

Their iniquities

Jeremiah 5:25

Your wrongdoings have kept these away; your sins have deprived you of good.

Amos 3:2

“You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your sins.”

Their unbelief

Romans 11:20

Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid.

Hebrews 3:18-19

18 And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed?

19 So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.

Refusing the law of Jehovah

Hosea 4:1-9

1 1 Hear the word of the LORD, you Israelites, because the LORD has a charge to bring against you who live in the land: “There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land.

2 There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.

3 Because of this the land mourns, and all who live in it waste away; the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the fish of the sea are dying.

4 “But let no man bring a charge, let no man accuse another, for your people are like those who bring charges against a priest.

5 You stumble day and night, and the prophets stumble with you. So I will destroy your mother—

6 my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. “Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.

7 The more the priests increased, the more they sinned against me; they exchanged their Glory for something disgraceful.

8 They feed on the sins of my people and relish their wickedness.

9 And it will be: Like people, like priests. I will punish both of them for their ways and repay them for their deeds.