What is a Catholic interpretation of Ecclesiastes 9:5 (compared to that of the Jehovah's Witnesses)?

[HAVEFAITH1]

What is the proper catholic interpretation of Ecclesiastes 9:5? It was brought up by Jehovah Witnesses my mother engaged in conversation with. She wants to be prepared when they return. Thank you for your time.

 

[Fr.Eric_Filmer]

Greetings.

Ecclesiastes 9:5 states:

For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward; but the memory of them is lost. (RSV)

This is one of the verses that the Jehovah’s Witnesses (among others) cite to support teachings concerning “soul annihilation”, “soul sleep”, etc. Simply put, they believe that after death the soul is in a state of non-existence (and therefore there is no consciousness). At the end of time, God will resurrect believers (from his memory) and give them new bodies. In light of all this, the Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe in hell, at least not in accord with the traditional Christian understanding of the term. Those who are not saved simply cease to exist.

I am not aware of the Catholic Church having an official interpretation specifically of Ecclesiastes 9:5 (although, of course, the Church has doctrines concerning eschatology, which is basically the subject being examined; see the Catechism of the Catholic Church #1006 - 1041). Nevertheless, here is an elaboration on Ecclesiastes 9:5 from a Catholic Bible commentary:

9:5 the dead know nothing: A view of death in which the deceased are no longer capable of thinking, acting, or experiencing joys of any kind (9:6, 10). Moreover, they are quickly forgotten by the living (2:16). According to this view, the state of death barely qualifies as existence at all. Qoheleth is either adopting the common view of his times or engaging in his own speculation about the state of death. Either way, his inspired words reveal the limits of reason rather than the actual circumstances attending the souls of the departed. It is only with the deposit of Christian revelation that we learn the full truth about what happens to man after death (particular and universal judgments, resurrection of the body, heaven, hell, etc.) (CCC 1006-41)

• Scott Hahn & Curtis Mitch, Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon (Ignatius Press: San Francisco, 2012), 78.

Even though the Catholic Church believes that Ecclesiastes is divinely inspired, we have to keep in mind that God gradually revealed knowledge of the afterlife in stages throughout the Old Testament period, and we are given the fullness of this knowledge in the New Testament (combined with Sacred Tradition). Qoheleth (the author of Ecclesiastes, being the Hebrew rendition of “the Preacher” from Ecclesiastes 1:2) is writing about the afterlife without the benefit of the fullness of revelation and therefore any teachings based upon it (such as “soul annihilation” and “soul sleep”) will have the same limitations.

Also consider Fr. John Echert’s comments on Ecclesiastes 9:5 as seen here.

Note that the following Catholic Answers tracts address many teachings of the Jehovah’s Witnesses from a Catholic perspective:
Stumpers for the Jehovah’s Witnesses
More Stumpers for the Jehovah’s Witnesses
Distinctive Beliefs of the Jehovah’s Witnesses
Strategies of the Jehovah’s Witnesses
Are They Awake on the Watchtower?
The God of the Jehovah’s Witnesses
History of the Jehovah’s Witnesses