Ecclesiastes 8:9

All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his own hurt. (THERE IS) A TIME WHEREIN ONE MAN RULETH OVER ANOTHER TO HIS OWN HURT. The tyrannical 'ruler hurts' not merely his subjects, but himself; so Rehoboam (1 Kings 12:1): but the "time" of "hurt" chiefly refers to eternal ruin, incurred by "wickedness," at "the day of death" (), and the "time" of "judgment" (; ). Hengstenberg explains, 'to the hurt of the ruled' (Proverbs 28:15). The opp...

9-13 Solomon observed, that many a time one man rules over another to his hurt, and that prosperity hardens them in their wickedness. Sinners herein deceive themselves. Vengeance comes slowly, but it comes surely. A good man's days have some substance; he lives to a good purpose: a wicked man's days are all as a shadow, empty and worthless. Let us pray that we may view eternal things as near, real, and all-important....

Verse Ecclesiastes 8:9. _ONE MAN RULETH OVER ANOTHER TO HIS OWN HURT._] This may be spoken of rulers generally, who, instead of _feeding, fleece the_ _flock_; tyrants and oppressors, who come to an untimely end by their mismanagement of the offices of the state. All these things relate to _Asiatic_ despots, and have ever been more applicable to _them_ than to any other sovereigns in the world. They were despotic; they still are so....

TO HIS OWN HURT - Or, “to the hurt of the subject.” The case is still that of an unwise king whose command is obeyed Ecclesiastes 8:2 even to the hurt of the wise man who obeys him....

EXPOSITION ECCLESIASTES 8:1 Section 5. There is no use in repining or rebelling; _true wisdom counsels obedience to the powers that be_,_ and submission to the dispensations of Providence_._ _However oppressive a tyrant may prove sure retribution awaits him. ECCLESIASTES 8:1 WHO IS AS THE WISE MAN?_ i_._e_._ _Who is like, equal to, the wise man? The somewhat sudden question occurs naturally after the results of the search for wisdom mentioned at the end of the last chapter. The thought is not, as in Hosea 14:9 and...

ALL THIS HAVE I SEEN,.... Observed, taken notice of, and thoroughly considered; all that is said above, concerning the scarcity of good men and women, the fall of our first parents, the excellency of wisdom, the necessity and advantage of keeping the king's commandment, the time and manner of doing it, the evil consequences that follow an inattention to these things, ignorance of what is to come, and the unavoidableness of death; AND APPLIED MY HEART UNTO EVERY WORK THAT IS DONE UNDER THE SUN; not so much to mechanic works and manual operations performed by men, as to moral or immoral works, and chiefly the work of Providence with respect to good and bad men, the consequence of which were the following observations; [THERE IS] A TIME WHEREIN ONE MAN RULETH OVER ANOTHER TO HIS OWN HURT; or "the man ruleth over men" h; for this is not to be understood of private rule in families, of the...

CHAPTER 8 _ 1. Prudence before kings (Ecclesiastes 8:1)_ 2. Of the righteous and the wicked (Ecclesiastes 8:11) 3. The conclusion (Ecclesiastes 8:14) Ecclesiastes 8:1. What else had he seen? What were his further discoveries? He is still ardent in praising wisdom, though he had confessed “that it was far from him.” Wisdom makes the face to shine and the boldness of the face becomes changed. He cautions as to the governmental powers in the world, urges prudence and submission. He is a keen observer. But nothing can deliver from the power of the grave. The tyrannic rul

MAXIMS ON WISDOM AND GOVERNMENT. Ecclesiastes 8:1. Wisdom (like prayer and self-sacrifice; _cf._ Luke 9:29) transfigures the countenance, it takes the hardness or coarseness out of the face. Ecclesiastes 8:2. Honour the king, remembering his Divine appointment and the oath taken at his coronation; do not rashly leave his service or rebel against him. Or we may (so LXX) connect Ecclesiastes 8:2_ b_ with Ecclesiastes 8:3, but where an oath of God is in question be not hasty (_i.e._ in obeying the king); go

UNDER THE SUN. See note on Ecclesiastes 1:3. THERE IS. TIME WHEREIN. sometimes....

_All this have I seen_ The formula which had been used before (chs. Ecclesiastes 5:18; Ecclesiastes 7:23) to enforce the results of the DEBATER'S experience of life in general, is now employed to emphasize the wide range of the political induction on which the conclusions of the previous verses rested. _there is a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his own hurt_ The Hebrew is, as in so many other instances, ambiguous. The English reflexive pronoun, in which our Version follows the Vulgate, misrepresents the purport of the sentence. What is described is, as before, the misrule of the tyrant-king who rules over others (the indefinite "another" standing for the plural) to THEIR hurt. The wide induction had not been uniform in its results. The law of Nemesis was