This verse describes conditions in an apostate Israel. Those who set themselves above others (“the proud”) appear to be “happy” (“They that work wickedness” is a synonym for “the proud”). This statement has echoes of Alma 41:10: “Wickedness never was happiness.” Yet we sometimes assume that it is. That is the precise problem with the proud. They are proud because of their wealth and esteem themselves as a result. By sharing their assumptions, we also assume that they are happy. In modern terms, we assume that someone with a lot of money or with nice possessions must be happy because we assume that we would be happier with such things. The Lord reminds us that this is not the eternal definition of happiness.
For several hundred years, the Nephites have envied the social hierarchies of neighboring peoples. Those desires for wealth and social hierarchy led to the rise of the Gadianton robbers who caused the downfall of the Nephite government. The Nephites had certainly assumed that those “proud” people were happy and that their lifestyle was therefore desirable. It was a costly illusion.
A third parallel to “the proud” and “they that work wickedness” is “they that tempt God.” Again, these are supposed believers who actually violate God’s laws but “are even delivered,” meaning that they receive no social punishment, ostracism, or disapproval. This passage describes a state of apostasy in which, in a bizarre but all-too-familiar inversion, the disobedient are actually admired.