For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. (Ecclesiastes 9:5)
Not a reference to eternal rewards, whether of death for the wicked (Rev. 20:11-15) or of immortality for the righteous (see Rev. 21:1-4; cf. Matt. 16:27; 1 Cor. 15:51-54). Solomon is here speaking of enjoying the fruits of labor in this life.
The memory of them.
That is, the memory of them in the minds of the living, not their own mental faculty of memory. This is clear from the meaning of the word zeker, “remembrance,”“memorial,” and from its usage in the OT. Without exception it refers to “remembrance” about persons or events, never to the faculty of memory (Job 18:17; Ps. 31:12; Ps. 112:6).