New International Version
Jeremiah 17:11
11Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay are those who gain riches by unjust means. When their lives are half gone, their riches will desert them, and in the end they will prove to be fools.
Jeremiah 17:11 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Like the partridge that gathers a brood that she did not hatch, so is he who gets riches but not by justice; in the midst of his days they will leave him, and at his end he will be a fool.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“As a partridge that broods but does not hatch, So is he who gets riches, but not by right; It will leave him in the midst of his days, And at his end he will be a fool.”
- New Living Translation (NLT)Like a partridge that hatches eggs she has not laid, so are those who get their wealth by unjust means. At midlife they will lose their riches; in the end, they will become poor old fools.
Context of Jeremiah 17:11
9The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? 10“I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay are those who gain riches by unjust means. When their lives are half gone, their riches will desert them, and in the end they will prove to be fools. 12A glorious throne, exalted from the beginning, is the place of our sanctuary. 13Lord, you are the hope of Israel; all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the Lord, the spring of living water.
Read all of Jeremiah 17Jeremiah 17:11 word by word
קֹרֵ֤א דָגַר֙ וְלֹ֣א יָלָ֔ד עֹ֥שֶׂה עֹ֖שֶׁר וְלֹ֣א בְמִשְׁפָּ֑ט בַּחֲצִ֤י יָמָיו֙ יַעַזְבֶ֔נּוּ וּבְאַחֲרִית֖וֹ יִהְיֶ֥ה נָבָֽל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- the partridgeקֹרֵאqôrê' · partridgeH7124
- sittethדָּגַרdâgar · to gatherH1716
- and hatchethיָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205
- he that gettethעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: offerH6213
- richesעֹ֫שֶׁר‛ôsher · richesH6239
- and not by rightמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justiceH4941
- shall leaveעָזַב‛âzab · to leave: forsakeH5800
- them in the midstחֲצִיchêtsîy · halfH2677
- of his daysיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
- and at his endאַחֲרִית'achărîyth · endH319
- shall be a foolנָבָלnâbâl · foolishH5036
Cross-references for Jeremiah 17:11
- Jeremiah 5:27Like cages full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; they have become rich and powerful
- Jeremiah 22:13“Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice, making his own people work for nothing, not paying them for their labor.
- Proverbs 1:18These men lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush only themselves!
- Proverbs 13:11Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow.
- Proverbs 15:27The greedy bring ruin to their households, but the one who hates bribes will live.
- Proverbs 21:6A fortune made by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare.
- Proverbs 28:8Whoever increases wealth by taking interest or profit from the poor amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor.
- Isaiah 1:23Your rulers are rebels, partners with thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts. They do not defend the cause of the fatherless; the widow’s case does not come before them.
- Ezekiel 22:12In you are people who accept bribes to shed blood; you take interest and make a profit from the poor. You extort unjust gain from your neighbors. And you have forgotten me, declares the Sovereign Lord.
- Hosea 12:7The merchant uses dishonest scales and loves to defraud.
- Amos 3:10“They do not know how to do right,” declares the Lord, “who store up in their fortresses what they have plundered and looted.”
- Amos 8:4Hear this, you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land,
- Micah 2:1Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they carry it out because it is in their power to do it.
- Micah 6:10Am I still to forget your ill-gotten treasures, you wicked house, and the short ephah, which is accursed?
- Micah 7:3Both hands are skilled in doing evil; the ruler demands gifts, the judge accepts bribes, the powerful dictate what they desire— they all conspire together.
- Habakkuk 2:6“Will not all of them taunt him with ridicule and scorn, saying, “ ‘Woe to him who piles up stolen goods and makes himself wealthy by extortion! How long must this go on?’
Commentaries on Jeremiah 17:11
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 11As the partridge - קרא kore . It is very likely that this was a bird different from our partridge. The text Dr. Blayney translates thus: - (As) the kore that hatcheth what it doth not lay (So is) he who getteth riches, and not according to right. "The covetous man," says Dahler, "who heaps up riches by unjust ways, is compared to a bird which hatches the eggs of other fowls. And as the young, when hatched, and able at all to shift for themselves, abandon…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5-18Verses 5-18 In the rest of the prophecy Jeremiah dwells upon the moral faults which had led to Judah‘s ruin. Jeremiah 17:6 Like the heath - Or, “like a destitute man” Psalm 102:17. The verbs “he shall see” (or fear) and “shall inhabit” plainly show that a man is here meant and not a plant. Jeremiah 17:8 The river - Or, “water-course” Isaiah 30:25, made for purposes of irrigation. Shall not see - Or, “shall not fear Jeremiah 17:6.” God‘s people feel…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 5-11Verses 5-11 He who puts confidence in man, shall be like the heath in a desert, a naked tree, a sorry shrub, the product of barren ground, useless and worthless. Those who trust to their own righteousness and strength, and think they can do without Christ, make flesh their arm, and their souls cannot prosper in graces or comforts. Those who make God their Hope, shall flourish like a tree always green, whose leaf does not wither. They shall be fixed in…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 11Jeremiah mentioned a general principle (see Psalm 73) that was not always true (Job 21:27–33): People who gain wealth unfairly eventually lose it.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1111. partridge--(1Sa 26:20). Hebrew, korea, from a root, "to call," alluding to its cry; a name still applied to a bustard by the Arabs. Its nest is liable, being on the ground, to be trodden under foot, or robbed by carnivorous animals, notwithstanding all the beautiful manoeuvres of the parent birds to save the brood. The translation, "sitteth on eggs which it has not laid," alludes to the ancient notion that she stole the eggs of other birds and hatched…Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 17:11
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Jeremiah 17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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