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 12:1-33): but the "time" of "hurt" chiefly refers to eternal ruin, incurred by "wickedness," at "the day of death" (Ecclesiastes 8:8), and the "time" of "judgment" (Ecclesiastes 8:6; Proverbs 8:36). Hengstenberg explains, 'to the hurt of the ruled' (Proverbs 28:15-16). The oppression which the godly suffer would be a stumbling-block to faith (Ecclesiastes 7:15) if looked at superficially. But Solomon says, "I applied my heart (understanding)," i:e., looked deeply into the matter.