For example, in Ecclesiastes 5, verse 8, Qoheleth says, “If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still.” Old Testament commentator Michael A. Eaton writes of this text that Qoheleth “considers the frustrations of oppressive bureaucracy with its endless delays and excuses . . . and justice is lost between the tiers of the hierarchy.”
