Ecclesiastes 8:9

Ecclesiastes 8:9 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)All this I saw, as I applied my mind to everything done under the sun. There is a time when a man lords it over others to his own hurt.
• English Standard Version (ESV)All this I observed while applying my heart to all that is done under the sun, when man had power over man to his hurt.
• New King James Version (NKJV)All this I have seen, and applied my heart to every work that is done under the sun: There is a time in which one man rules over another to his own hurt.

Context of Ecclesiastes 8:9

7They don’t know what the future will bring. So who can tell them how things will turn out? 8No one has the power to prevent the spirit of life from leaving. No one has control over the day of his own death. There is no way to avoid the war ⌞against death⌟. Wickedness will not save wicked people ⌞from dying⌟. I have seen all of this, and I have carefully considered all that is done under the sun whenever one person has authority to hurt others. 10Then I saw wicked people given an ⌞honorable⌟ burial. They used to go in and out of the holy place. They were praised in the city for doing such things. Even this is pointless. 11When a sentence against a crime isn’t carried out quickly, people are encouraged to commit crimes.

Ecclesiastes 8:9 word by word

אֶת־כָּל־זֶ֤ה רָאִ֙יתִי֙ וְנָת֣וֹן אֶת־לִבִּ֔י לְכָֽל־מַעֲשֶׂ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר נַעֲשָׂ֖ה תַּ֣חַת הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁ עֵ֗ת אֲשֶׁ֨ר שָׁלַ֧ט הָאָדָ֛ם בְּאָדָ֖ם לְרַ֥ע לֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• All this have I seenרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• and appliedנָתַןnâthan · to give: putH5414
• my heartלֵבlêb · heartH3820
• unto every workמַעֲשֶׂהma‛ăώeh · deedH4639
• that is doneעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• under the sunשֶׁ֫מֶשׁshemesh · sunH8121
• a timeעֵת‛êth · timeH6256
• wherein one manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
• rulethשָׁלַטshâlaţ · to domineerH7980
• over another to his own hurtרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: evilH7451

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 8:9

• Ecclesiastes 1:14I have seen everything that is done under the sun. Look at it! It’s all pointless. ⌞It’s like⌟ trying to catch the wind.
• Ecclesiastes 3:10I have seen mortals weighed down with a burden that God has placed on them.
• Ecclesiastes 4:7Next, I turned to look at something pointless under the sun:
• Ecclesiastes 7:25I turned my attention to study, to explore, and to seek out wisdom and the reason for things. I learned that wickedness is stupid and foolishness is madness.
• Ecclesiastes 5:8Don’t be surprised if you see poor people being oppressed, denied justice, or denied their rights in any district. One authority is watching over another, and they both have authorities watching over them.
• Exodus 14:5When Pharaoh (the king of Egypt) was told that the people had fled, he and his officials changed their minds about them. They said, “What have we done? We’ve lost our slaves because we’ve let Israel go.”
• Deuteronomy 2:30But King Sihon of Heshbon wouldn’t allow us to pass through. The Lord your God made him stubborn and overconfident in order to hand him over to you, as he has now done.
• 2 Kings 14:10You certainly defeated Edom, and now you have become arrogant. Enjoy your fame, but stay home. Why must you invite disaster and your own defeat and take Judah with you?”
• 2 Kings 25:7They slaughtered Zedekiah’s sons as he watched, and then they blinded Zedekiah. They put him in bronze shackles and took him to Babylon.

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 8:9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9One 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.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9To 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.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-13Verses 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.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9-11In this world, unfairness often wins. It can be frustrating when bad people seem to succeed.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. his own hurt--The tyrannical ruler "hurts" not merely his subjects, but himself; so Rehoboam (1Ki 12:1-33); but the "time" of "hurt" chiefly refers to eternal ruin, incurred by "wickedness," at "the day of death" (Ec 8:8), and the "time" of "judgment" (Ec 8:6; Pr 8:36).Read the comment

Topics related to Ecclesiastes 8:9

• Rulers

In the dictionaries

• Discern
• Discharge
• Feel
• Hasty
• Heart
• Set
• Synagogue, the Great

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings