Ecclesiastes 5:8

THE HIERARCHY OF OPPRESSION

"If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and the violent taking away of justice and righteousness in a province, marvel not at the matter; for one higher than the high regardeth; and there are higher than they. Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field."

"The Hebrew text of Ecclesiastes 5:9 has been damaged; and the translation is little more than a guess at what might have been meant."[6] As the verses stand, they appear to be an apology, or justification, for the pyramidal hierarchy of the ancient system of taxation, in which, "These officials were watching, not, as a rule, that justice should be done to the poor, but to squeeze revenue out of the lesser officials under them. Each official was an oppressor; and there is no wonder that the poor peasant, the lowest stratum of the heap, should be squeezed."[7]

"Marvel not at the matter" (Ecclesiastes 5:8). Something of the heartlessness of Solomon appears in this flippant remark. It means, simply, "Think nothing of it"! Regarding the mention here of "the one higher than the high," "This is perhaps an impersonal reference to the king."[8]