Swedenborg several times associates the “wicked” with “malevolence,” defines “malevolence” as “destroying good, interior and exterior,” and says that the wicked do this by disowning the desire for good and understanding for good that come from the Lord and actively denying the Lord.

We might say, then, that wickedness is evil on the hunt, looking for all that is good and true specifically so it can attack and destroy it.

(References: Apocalypse Explained 661; Arcana Coelestia 7590, 9249, 9264)

7590. 'Jehovah is righteous, and I and my people are wicked' means that Divine Good could not tolerate the malevolence of the molesters, and that the current affliction had occurred as a result of this. This is clear from the consideration that Jehovah is Divine Good; for 'Jehovah' is used to mean the Divine Being (Esse), which is Divine Good, and 'God' to mean the Divine Coming-into-Being (Existere), which is Divine Truth, dealt with in 6905. Jehovah is said to be 'righteous' because He cannot tolerate the malevolence of molesters; for 'Pharaoh and his people' means those who engage in molestation, and malevolence is meant by their being 'wicked'.