Charles Ellicott Commentary Ecclesiastes 2:12

"And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what [can] the man [do] that cometh after the king? [even] that which hath been done long ago." — Ecclesiastes 2:12 (ASV)

This verse presents some translation difficulties which need not be discussed here. The Authorized Version gives the following very good sense: If the king has failed in his experiment, what likelihood is there that a private person would be more successful?

Yet, bearing in mind that in Ecclesiastes 5:18 the phrase the man that comes after the king means his successor, and also that the theme of the whole section is that there is no progress in human affairs, it is simpler to understand this verse: the king’s successor can do no more than run the same round that has been followed by his predecessor.