Resource > Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable) >
Ecclesiastes >
Exposition >
II. THE FUTILITY OF WORK 1:12--6:9 >
B. General Observations 2:18-6:9 >
4. The perishable fruits of labor 5:1-6:9 >
The effect of political officials 5:8-9
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The point of these verses seems to be that the fruits of one's work can also disappear as a result of taxes and unfair oppression by political rulers. A hierarchy of officials is in view. By legal and illegal means rulers squeeze money out of the populace. Even so, it is better to have government than not to have it. One translation of verse 9 is, "But an advantage to a land for everyone is: a king over cultivated land."50
