Thomas Aquinas Commentary Jeremiah 17:11-14

"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. A glorious throne, [set] on high from the beginning, is the place of our sanctuary. O Jehovah, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be put to shame. They that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken Jehovah, the fountain of living waters. Heal me, O Jehovah, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise." — Jeremiah 17:11-14 (ASV)

1. He touches on the second source from which the hope of immunity arose: an abundance of riches. He speaks of the confidence the wicked place in their wealth, using the analogy of the partridge that steals the eggs of other birds, sits on them, and is finally abandoned by the chicks. In this, he is speaking of the unjust accumulation of wealth: as the partridge has hatched.

   He explains: so he who has gotten riches and not by judgment. As Habakkuk says, Woe to him who multiplies what is not his own. How long will he load himself with dense clay? (Habakkuk 2:6). He then describes the loss of these riches: he shall leave them in the midst of his days, meaning he will either die in his youth or lose them to the plundering Chaldeans while he is still alive.

   In the end—that is, at the divine judgment or at his death, when riches will be found to have profited him nothing—he shall be a fool. He will appear to be a fool, for as the psalmist says, And he will leave his riches to others, and their graves shall be their houses forever (Psalms 48:11). As Job says, He knows the deceiver, and him who is deceived (Job 12:16).

2. He speaks of the hope of the just, which is in the worship of God. Their hope is the glorious throne—that is, the expectation and confidence of the people of Israel is the temple, the ark, and the mercy seat, which together signify the worship of God. This worship is called a high and glorious throne, for there the glory of the Lord would appear in revelations from the beginning of the giving of the Law. It is the place of our sanctification, meaning the place in which we are sanctified, or which God has sanctified before us and for us. As written above: the throne of your glory; remember, and do not break your covenant with us (Jeremiah 14:21).

   To this, he adds the punishment for those who turn away from this confidence: O LORD, all who forsake you shall be put to shame; those who depart from you in the land of their captivity shall be inscribed. This means they will be registered as citizens who will remain there forever, or counted among those who know only earthly things, or that they will descend into earthly corruption, as Psalm 48:12 says: they have called their names in their lands. He gives the reason for this: for they have abandoned the LORD, the source of living waters. As written above: they have abandoned me (Jeremiah 2:13).

3. He extends his petition to God, who is his hope: heal me from the wounds of sin and from the distress that surrounds me; save me by preserving me among the good; you are my praise, the one whom I praise, or the one because of whom I am praised. As the psalmist says, I have said: O Lord, have mercy on me, heal my soul, for I have sinned against you (Psalms 40:5).