Charles Ellicott Commentary Ecclesiastes 5:9

"Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king [himself] is served by the field." — Ecclesiastes 5:9 (ASV)

Is served by. —Or, is servant to. Many eminent interpreters connect this verse with what precedes, and translate, “and on the whole the profit of the land is a king devoted to agriculture,” an observation that is difficult to defend against the charge of irrelevance. I prefer, as in our version, to connect with the following verses, and the best explanation I can give of the connection of the paragraph is that it contains a consideration intended to mitigate the difficulty felt at the sight of riches acquired by oppression, namely, that riches add little to the real happiness of their possessors.