Question:
Answer:
For the living know that they are to die, but the dead no longer know anything. There is no further recompense for them, because all memory of them is lost (Ecc 9:5).
Prior to the resurrection of Jesus, all the dead were in Sheol, and after the Resurrection the righteous were brought to heaven. The author of Ecclesiastes is writing within the context of all the dead being in Sheol.
In Jewish tradition, Sheol was a shadowy place where the dead awaited judgment. The full revelation of heaven had not yet occurred (Heb 1:1-2). The Jewish concept of Sheol developed over time and can’t be locked into any one Bible verse.
We must also take into account the context of Ecclesiastes. The book is written from a very human-centric point of view. It is written almost as if by a human bystander to the events of life and records the appearance of things rather than their ultimate reality.