Commentaries:
Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown
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" (Ecclesiastes 8:8), and the "time" of "judgment" (Ecclesiastes 8:6; Proverbs 8:36).
Other Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown entries containing Ecclesiastes 8:9:
Ecclesiastes 8:10
Ecclesiastes 9:17
Ecclesiastes 10:8
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