Bible Strands
Jeremiah 17:11
Like a partridge hatching eggs it did not lay is the man who makes a fortune unjustly. In the middle of his days his riches will desert him, and in the end he will be the fool.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jeremiah speaks as God's prophet to Judah, immediately after the declaration that the LORD searches the heart and rewards each person according to their deeds (v. 10). This is a judgment pronouncement, not a general proverb.
The words — דָגַר (dāgar, "to gather a brood / to hatch") carries the image: the partridge sits on eggs it never laid, a well-known natural observation in the ancient Near East. The verb does the rhetorical work of the whole verse.
The thread — Proverbs 28:20 pairs the eager rich-getter with certain punishment; Proverbs 21:6 calls a fortune built on a lying tongue "a vanishing mist"; Jeremiah 22:17 names the same pattern in Judah's kings as "dishonest gain" coupled with innocent blood.
Why it lands — The verse forces a single question: did you lay these eggs, or are you merely sitting on them? It is an audit of origin, not a commentary on amount.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 28:20 A faithful man will abound with blessings, but one eager to be rich will not go unpunished.
- Proverbs 21:6 Making a fortune by a lying tongue is a vanishing mist, a deadly pursuit.
- Jeremiah 22:17 “But your eyes and heart are set on nothing except your own dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood, on practicing extortion and oppression.”
- Jeremiah 22:13 “Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms without justice, who makes his countrymen serve without pay, and fails to pay their wages,
- Proverbs 15:27 He who is greedy for unjust gain brings trouble on his household, but he who hates bribes will live.
- Proverbs 28:8 He who increases his wealth by interest and usury lays it up for one who is kind to the poor.
- Psalms 55:23 But You, O God, will bring them down to the Pit of destruction; men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days. But I will trust in You.
- Proverbs 13:11 Dishonest wealth will dwindle, but what is earned through hard work will be multiplied.
- Proverbs 28:22 A stingy man hastens after wealth and does not know that poverty awaits him.
- Ecclesiastes 5:13 There is a grievous evil I have seen under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner,