John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 17:11

"As the partridge that sitteth on [eggs] which she hath not laid, so is he that getteth riches, and not by right; in the midst of his days they shall leave him, and at his end he shall be a fool." — Jeremiah 17:11 (ASV)

The Prophet no doubt intended only to show that those who enriched themselves by unlawful means, or heaped together great wealth, would still be subject to the curse of God, so that whatever they may have gotten through much toil and labor would vanish from them; for God would empty them of all they possessed.

There is therefore no ambiguity in the meaning of the Prophet, or in the subject itself. But as to the words, interpreters do not agree. The greater part, however, incline to this view — that as the partridge gathers the eggs of others, which she does not hatch, so also he who accumulates wealth will eventually have nothing, for God will deprive him.

But the passage seems to me to be plainly this: Whosoever makes, or procures or acquires, riches, and that not by right, that is, not rightly nor honestly, but by wicked and artful means, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at last shall be of no account, or shall be a mockery. For נבל nabal means a worthless thing; some render it fool, and rightly, for it often means that.

But there is an analogy employed, As the partridge gathers eggs and produces not. To produce may be here explained in two ways; it may be applied to the chicks or to the eggs. Some consider the word קרא kora to be masculine: then it is, The partridge, that is, the male, gathers, or lays on eggs which he has not produced, or did not lay. But to produce may also mean to hatch.

It may now be asked, how can this analogy be applied to the subject at hand? The Rabbis, according to their practice, have devised fables; for they imagine that the partridge steals all the eggs of other birds which she can find, and gathers them into one heap; and then that the chicks, when hatched, fly away, as by a certain hidden instinct, they understand that it is not their mother.

But neither Aristotle nor Pliny say any such thing about partridges. They indeed say that the bird is full of cunning, and mention several instances; but they refer to no such thing as that the partridge collects its eggs so stealthily. These things then are fables, which it would be very absurd to believe.

But it is said of partridges consistently, by Aristotle and Pliny, as well as by others, that it is a very lustful bird. So great is their lust, that the males seek after the eggs, and to prevent the females from sitting on them, they break them with their beaks or scatter them with their feet.

There is also, as they say, great lust in the females, but a greater concern for their brood. They therefore hide their eggs, except when lust at times compels them to return to the males; and then they lay their eggs in their presence; and the male, when it finds an egg, breaks it with his feet.

Thus, it is very difficult to protect the brood; for before the female hatches the eggs, they are often forced out by the male. I have no doubt, therefore, that the real meaning of the Prophet is this — that while partridges so burn with love for their brood, they are at the same time led away by their own lust, and that while they conceal their eggs, the male cunningly steals them, so that their labor proves useless.

Now the Prophet says that all those who accumulate riches in an unjust manner are like partridges; for they are compelled to leave riches unlawfully acquired in the midst of their days. The overall meaning is that whoever seeks to become rich by means of injustice and wrong will be exposed to the curse of God, so that in the end he will not enjoy his ill-gotten wealth.

If anyone will object and say that many who are avaricious, perfidious, and rapacious do enjoy their riches, I answer that there is no true enjoyment when no use is made of them and no security for them. If we properly consider how the avaricious possess what they have plundered, we will find that they always crave more plunder and are like the partridges; for they lay eggs, as it were, and yet no fruit appears.

Before any fruit is brought forth, or at least before it comes to them, they become destitute in the midst of their days. And though God permits them to hold hidden riches, yet they derive, as it is well known, no benefit from them. Indeed, their cupidity, as it is insatiable, is like a dropsy, for they are always thirsty. The very mass of wealth so inflames their avarice that the richest of them has less than one who is contented with a moderate and even with a small fortune.

It is then certain that those who, even to death, possess ill-gotten wealth do not yet really enjoy it, for they always lay on their eggs, and yet, as I have said, they derive no benefit.

Furthermore, the more remarkable judgment of God may be noticed, for in a moment the richest are reduced to the extremes of poverty. And though they think to make their children happy by leaving them a large patrimony, they yet leave them nothing but what proves to be snares to them all their life and turns to their ruin.

However this may be, experience sufficiently proves the truth of the old proverb, “What is ill-gotten is ill-spent.” And this is what the Prophet means when he compares to partridges those who accumulate riches, not by right, as he says.

An exception should be noted here; for a just man may become rich, as God made Abraham rich; but he did not become rich by frauds and plunder and cruelty: the blessing of God made him rich. But they who by wrong and injustice accumulate wealth must necessarily eventually be destroyed by God.

He says first, In the midst of his days shall he leave them. This means that even while he has money locked up in his chest, while he has his granaries and his cellars full, even then his wealth will vanish.

We see that where there is the greatest abundance, the master himself is hungry and famishing; he cannot eat so as to satisfy his hunger, while he could feed hundreds.

Thus, his wealth disappears and vanishes in his hands. He afterwards adds, at his end he will be nothing, or he will be a mockery, or he will be a fool.

The world indeed considers only those wise who are provident, who are attentive to their own gain, who plunder on every side, and tenaciously hold what has once come into their hands. But the Lord here condemns them all for their folly and vanity.

I think, at the same time, that the slaves of money are here called worthless and contemptible people. It follows: —