Curly, this is the interpretation from the NIV Study Bible, written by a consortium of over 100 scholars working for the International Bible Society. Ecc 9: 5 & 10 "When Solomon says the dead know nothing and that there is no work, planning, knowledge, or wisdom in death, he is not contrasting life with afterlife, but life with death. After you die, you can't change what you have done. Resurrection to a new life after death was a vague concept for OT believers. It was only made clear after Jesus rose from the dead. Anyhoo - how does talking of an eternal soul or not prove that God exists which was the original poster's question?