New King James Version
Jeremiah 17:11
11“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.”
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.
- New International Version (NIV)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.
- 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 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
9“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? 10I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings. “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.” 12A glorious high throne from the beginning Is the place of our sanctuary. 13O Lord, the hope of Israel, All who forsake You shall be ashamed. “Those who depart from Me Shall be written in the earth, Because they have forsaken the Lord, The fountain of living waters.”
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 5:27As a cage is full of birds, So their houses are full of deceit. Therefore they have become great and grown rich.
- Jeremiah 22:13“Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness And his chambers by injustice, Who uses his neighbor’s service without wages And gives him nothing for his work,
- Proverbs 1:18But they lie in wait for their own blood, They lurk secretly for their own lives.
- Proverbs 13:11Wealth gained by dishonesty will be diminished, But he who gathers by labor will increase.
- Proverbs 15:27He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house, But he who hates bribes will live.
- Proverbs 21:6Getting treasures by a lying tongue Is the fleeting fantasy of those who seek death.
- Proverbs 28:8One who increases his possessions by usury and extortion Gathers it for him who will pity the poor.
- Isaiah 1:23Your princes are rebellious, And companions of thieves; Everyone loves bribes, And follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, Nor does the cause of the widow come before them.
- Ezekiel 22:12In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take usury and increase; you have made profit from your neighbors by extortion, and have forgotten Me,” says the Lord God.
- Hosea 12:7“A cunning Canaanite! Deceitful scales are in his hand; He loves to oppress.
- Amos 3:10For they do not know to do right,’ Says the Lord, ‘Who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.’ ”
- Amos 8:4Hear this, you who swallow up the needy, And make the poor of the land fail,
- Micah 2:1Woe to those who devise iniquity, And work out evil on their beds! At morning light they practice it, Because it is in the power of their hand.
- Micah 6:10Are there yet the treasures of wickedness In the house of the wicked, And the short measure that is an abomination?
- Micah 7:3That they may successfully do evil with both hands— The prince asks for gifts, The judge seeks a bribe, And the great man utters his evil desire; So they scheme together.
- Habakkuk 2:6“Will not all these take up a proverb against him, And a taunting riddle against him, and say, ‘Woe to him who increases What is not his—how long? And to him who loads himself with many pledges’?
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries