Ecclesiastes 2:12

BSB · Public Domain (CC0)

“Then I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly; for what more can the king’s successor do than what has already been accomplished?”

What this verse means

A short, plain-language explanation of Ecclesiastes 2:12 goes here — the kind of answer a reader (or an AI assistant) can quote in one breath. Original meaning coming soon.

Compare translations
BSBPD

“Then I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly; for what more can the king’s successor do than what has already been accomplished?”

Berean Standard Bible · Public Domain (CC0)
KJVPD

“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 already done.”

King James Version · Public Domain
ASVPD

“And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for whatcanthe mandothat cometh after the king? even that which hath been done long ago.”

American Standard Version · Public Domain
YLTPD

“And I turned to see wisdom, and madness, and folly, but what <FI>is<Fi> the man who cometh after the king? that which <FI>is<Fi> already--they have done it!”

Young's Literal Translation · Public Domain
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Cross references

Other passages that echo Ecclesiastes 2:12 — 3 related verses from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

  1. Ecclesiastes 1:9What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
  2. Ecclesiastes 1:17So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind.
  3. Ecclesiastes 7:25I directed my mind to understand, to explore, to search out wisdom and explanations, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the folly of madness.

Cross-reference data: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain) via OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

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