---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: God bears with the wicked, but not forever."
description: "\"God bears with the wicked, but not forever.\" — Miguel de Cervantes"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a73/miguel-de-cervantes-715_bears_god-bears-with-the-wicked-but-not-foreve_1832888.png"
---

#  God bears with the wicked, but not forever.

![“God bears with the wicked, but not forever.” quote by Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a73/miguel-de-cervantes-715_bears_god-bears-with-the-wicked-but-not-foreve_1832888.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a73/miguel-de-cervantes-715_bears_god-bears-with-the-wicked-but-not-foreve_1832888.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a73/miguel-de-cervantes-715_bears_god-bears-with-the-wicked-but-not-foreve_1832888.png)

> “God bears with the wicked, but not forever.”

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Divine patience endures wrongdoing but not indefinitely; justice will ultimately prevail.

**In simple terms:** God tolerates sin temporarily.

Key Takeaway

Recognize that wrongdoing has limits.

Themes

justice patience divine

Mood

reflective hopeful

Type

theological inspirational

When to use this quote

- personal failings
- societal injustice
- spiritual reflection

Key Concepts

theology morality

Questions to Reflect On

- What does patience mean in justice?
- How long should we wait for change?

A Different Perspective

Interpretations of divine timing vary.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Bears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/) [Bears Wicked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears-wicked-2288504/) [Forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forever/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [God Bears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-bears-968644/) [Wicked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wicked/) [Wicked Forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wicked-forever-2288505/)

## Related quotes

> [The Bible is the place where God bears His soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-batterson/the-bible-is-the-place-where-god-bears-his-soul/)

[Mark Batterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-batterson/)

> [Creation is more than an accident of dead matter. It's a romance. It has purpose. It sings of the Living God. It bears his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-j-chaput/creation-is-more-than-an-accident-of-dead-matter-it-s-a-romance-it/)

[Charles J. Chaput](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-j-chaput/)

> [“Any seed that is planted by God bears fruit even before it touches the ground.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/any-seed-that-is-planted-by-god-bears-fruit-even-before-it-touches/)

[Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/)

> [The wicked are always ungrateful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/the-wicked-are-always-ungrateful/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

> [Old, that's an affront no woman can well bear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/old-that-s-an-affront-no-woman-can-well-bear/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

> [the greater part of the suffering in the world is caused not by wicked intents and hard hearts, but by the careless desire to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marah-ellis-ryan/the-greater-part-of-the-suffering-in-the-world-is-caused-not-by/)

[Marah Ellis Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marah-ellis-ryan/)

> [If evil is inevitable, how are the wicked accountable? Nay, why do we call men wicked at all? Evil is inevitable, but is also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/if-evil-is-inevitable-how-are-the-wicked-accountable-nay-why-do-we/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [I knew that I had turned my world back to cinders, sunk my lovely ship with my own stupid, wicked hands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-stewart/i-knew-that-i-had-turned-my-world-back-to-cinders-sunk-my-lovely-ship/)

[Mary Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-stewart/)

> [IMMORAL, adj. Inexpedient. Whatever in the long run and with regard to the greater number of instances men find to be generally inexpedient comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/immoral-adj-inexpedient-whatever-in-the-long-run-and-with-regard-to/)

[Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/)

> [As an actor, it was great to work with Harry Lloyd because he's wicked smart, and he is very kind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-gabriel/as-an-actor-it-was-great-to-work-with-harry-lloyd-because-he-s-wicked/)

[Betty Gabriel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-gabriel/)

> [...it isn't foolish or wicked to enjoy. Wickedness is hurting people on purpose. I love what you are and who you are and how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald/it-isn-t-foolish-or-wicked-to-enjoy-wickedness-is-hurting-people-on/)

[John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/)

> [A wicked man in prayer may lift up his hands, but he cannot lift up his face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-watson/a-wicked-man-in-prayer-may-lift-up-his-hands-but-he-cannot-lift-up/)

[Thomas Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-watson/)

> [Fanaticism, to which men are so much inclined, has always served not only to render them more brutalized but more wicked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/fanaticism-to-which-men-are-so-much-inclined-has-always-served-not/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/)

[Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/)

> [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

## More by Miguel de Cervantes

> [Beware, gentle knight - the greatest monster of them all is reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/beware-gentle-knight-the-greatest-monster-of-them-all-is-reason/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

> [He had a face like a blessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/he-had-a-face-like-a-blessing/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

> [It is one thing to praise discipline, and another to submit to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/it-is-one-thing-to-praise-discipline-and-another-to-submit-to-it/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

> [Those who'll play with cats must expect to be scratched.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/those-who-ll-play-with-cats-must-expect-to-be-scratched/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

> [“So it appears to me, for when he could and should have wielded his pen to praise the virtues of so good a knight,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/so-it-appears-to-me-for-when-he-could-and-should-have-wielded-his-pen/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

> [“Too much sanity may be madness — and maddest of all: to see life as it is, and not as it should be!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/too-much-sanity-may-be-madness-and-maddest-of-all-to-see-life-as-it/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

> [Old, that's an affront no woman can well bear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/old-that-s-an-affront-no-woman-can-well-bear/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

> [One should not talk of hatters in the house of the hanged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/one-should-not-talk-of-hatters-in-the-house-of-the-hanged/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

> [It is courage that vanquishes in war, and not good weapons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/it-is-courage-that-vanquishes-in-war-and-not-good-weapons/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

> [Alas! all music jars when the soul's out of tune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/alas-all-music-jars-when-the-soul-s-out-of-tune/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

> [I follow a more easy, and, in my opinion, a wiser course, namely--to inveigh against the levity of the female sex, their fickleness, their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/i-follow-a-more-easy-and-in-my-opinion-a-wiser-course-namely-to/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

> [Every man is as heaven made him, and sometimes a great deal worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/every-man-is-as-heaven-made-him-and-sometimes-a-great-deal-worse/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

> [Great people create great acts of kindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/great-people-create-great-acts-of-kindness/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

> [One day, in the San Francisco walk, he came upon some badly painted figures and observed that good painters imitate nature but bad ones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/one-day-in-the-san-francisco-walk-he-came-upon-some-badly-painted/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

> [Drink moderately, for drunkeness neither keeps a secret, nor observes a promise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/drink-moderately-for-drunkeness-neither-keeps-a-secret-nor-observes-a/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

[Explore all 386 Miguel de Cervantes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

## More Bears quotes

> [For not only every democracy, but certainly every republic, bears within itself the seeds of its own destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-not-only-every-democracy-but-certainly-every-republic-bears/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [She'd read once that if you ran into a bear in the woods you should avoid eye contact and you shouldn't run away, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/she-d-read-once-that-if-you-ran-into-a-bear-in-the-woods-you-should/)

[Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/)

> [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/)

[Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/)

> [Television series are like the stock market. There's room for bears and bulls but no room for pigs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-newhart/television-series-are-like-the-stock-market-there-s-room-for-bears/)

[Bob Newhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-newhart/)

> [The Germans are the most philosophic people in the world, and the greatest smokers: now I trace their philosophy to their smoking. Smoking has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-borrow/the-germans-are-the-most-philosophic-people-in-the-world-and-the/)

[George Henry Borrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-borrow/)

> [...Gratitude transforms the torment of memory of good things now gone into silent joy. One bears what was lovely in the past not as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/gratitude-transforms-the-torment-of-memory-of-good-things-now-gone/)

[Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/)

> [You've had a whole lot of experience, but everything is also radically new at each moment, and you have to bring a kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-houston/you-ve-had-a-whole-lot-of-experience-but-everything-is-also-radically/)

[Jean Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-houston/)

> [The rationale which accompanies that imposition of male authority euphemistically referred to as 'the battle of the sexes' bears a certain resemblance to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/the-rationale-which-accompanies-that-imposition-of-male-authority/)

[Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/)

> [Pay no heed to the passing religious vogue. Go back to the grass roots. Open your hearts and search the Scriptures. Bear your cross,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/pay-no-heed-to-the-passing-religious-vogue-go-back-to-the-grass-roots/)

[Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/)

> [I want you to take a red-hot bath as hot as you can bear it, and just relax your nerves. You can read in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-want-you-to-take-a-red-hot-bath-as-hot-as-you-can-bear-it-and-just/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [He sank into the rocking chair, the same one in which Rebecca had sat during the early days of the house to give embroidery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/he-sank-into-the-rocking-chair-the-same-one-in-which-rebecca-had-sat/)

[Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/)

> [Some things in this world just ain't meant to be, not in the times we want 'em to, and the heart has to hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/some-things-in-this-world-just-ain-t-meant-to-be-not-in-the-times-we/)

[James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/)

> [And if anyone knows anything about anything," said Bear to himself, "it's Owl who knows something about something," he said, "or my name's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-if-anyone-knows-anything-about-anything-said-bear-to-himself-it-s/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I'm totally independent. I don't bear any responsibility to any system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-m-totally-independent-i-don-t-bear-any-responsibility-to-any-system/)

[Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/)

> [I'm supportive of women, absolutely, and it's so gratifying to have girls come up and say, 'I'm really inspired by your guitar playing.' I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-vincent/i-m-supportive-of-women-absolutely-and-it-s-so-gratifying-to-have/)

[St. Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-vincent/)

[Browse all 4,111 Bears quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "God bears with the wicked, but not forever.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Miguel de Cervantes"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/god-bears-with-the-wicked-but-not-forever/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Bears"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/god-bears-with-the-wicked-but-not-forever/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a73/miguel-de-cervantes-715_bears_god-bears-with-the-wicked-but-not-foreve_1832888.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a73/miguel-de-cervantes-715_bears_god-bears-with-the-wicked-but-not-foreve_1832888.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a73/miguel-de-cervantes-715_bears_god-bears-with-the-wicked-but-not-foreve_1832888.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“God bears with the wicked, but not forever.” — Miguel de Cervantes",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Miguel de Cervantes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "God bears with the wicked, but...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/god-bears-with-the-wicked-but-not-forever/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/god-bears-with-the-wicked-but-not-forever/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
