תּלמוד אויף יחזקאל 21:30

'But the dead know not anything' — this refers to the wicked who are called dead in their life-time; as it is said, 'And thou, O wicked one, thou art slain, the prince of Israel' (Ezek. xxi. 30)." Or if thou wilt, derive it from the following : "At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall the dead be put to death" (Deut. xvii. 6). But he is alive ! Nay, he is accounted as dead from the beginning.