Ecclesiastes 8:10

"All this I have seen, and applied my mind to every work that is done under the sun. There is a time in which one man has power over another to his hurt."

Key Reflection

In the ancient world, Ecclesiastes 8:10 reflects the author's observations of life and governance in the Persian Empire, where a king’s power often led to abuse. The phrase “one man has power over another to his hurt” likely refers to the potential for those in authority to oppress their subjects, mirroring the experiences of the original audience who lived under foreign rule, possibly that of the Babylonians or Persians.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

i. e., “I saw wicked (rulers) buried, who came into the world and went from the Holy place (the seat of authority and justice,Deuteronomy 19:17;2 Chronicles 19:6), and they were forgotten in the city where they had so ruled to the hurt of their subjects: this - their death and oblivion - shews their lot also to be vanity.” Others interpret the verse: “I have seen wicked men buried; and (others) came into the world, and from the Holy place they went out of the world, and were forgotten in the city where they had done rightly” (compare2 Kings 7:9).

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