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

7Indeed, how can people avoid what they don’t know is going to happen? 8None of us can hold back our spirit from departing. None of us has the power to prevent the day of our death. There is no escaping that obligation, that dark battle. And in the face of death, wickedness will certainly not rescue the wicked. I have thought deeply about all that goes on here under the sun, where people have the power to hurt each other. 10I have seen wicked people buried with honor. Yet they were the very ones who frequented the Temple and are now praised in the same city where they committed their crimes! This, too, is meaningless. 11When a crime is not punished quickly, people feel it is safe to do wrong.

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 observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless—like chasing the wind.
• Ecclesiastes 3:10I have seen the burden God has placed on us all.
• Ecclesiastes 4:7I observed yet another example of something meaningless under the sun.
• Ecclesiastes 7:25I searched everywhere, determined to find wisdom and to understand the reason for things. I was determined to prove to myself that wickedness is stupid and that foolishness is madness.
• Ecclesiastes 5:8Don’t be surprised if you see a poor person being oppressed by the powerful and if justice is being miscarried throughout the land. For every official is under orders from higher up, and matters of justice get lost in red tape and bureaucracy.
• Exodus 14:5When word reached the king of Egypt that the Israelites had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds. “What have we done, letting all those Israelite slaves get away?” they asked.
• Deuteronomy 2:30“But King Sihon of Heshbon refused to allow us to pass through, because the Lord your God made Sihon stubborn and defiant so he could help you defeat him, as he has now done.
• 2 Kings 14:10“You have indeed defeated Edom, and you are proud of it. But be content with your victory and stay at home! Why stir up trouble that will only bring disaster on you and the people of Judah?”
• 2 Kings 25:7They made Zedekiah watch as they slaughtered his sons. Then they gouged out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away 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