Passage
As a partridge that hatches eggs which it has not laid, So is he who makes a fortune, but unjustly; In the midst of his days it will forsake him, And in the end he will be a wicked fool.”
Jeremiah 17:11 (LSB)
Nearby Context
Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can know it?
Jeremiah 17:10 I, Yahweh, search the heart; I test the inmost being, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his deeds.
Jeremiah 17:11 As a partridge that hatches eggs which it has not laid, So is he who makes a fortune, but unjustly; In the midst of his days it will forsake him, And in the end he will be a wicked fool.”
Jeremiah 17:12 A glorious throne on high from the beginning Is the place of our sanctuary.
Jeremiah 17:13 O Yahweh, the hope of Israel, All who forsake You will be put to shame. Those who turn away on earth will be written down Because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, even Yahweh.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "partridge", "hatches", "eggs", "laid", "makes", "fortune", "unjustly", and "midst". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "partridge" and "hatches", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 10's "I Yahweh search the heart I test..." into verse 12's "A glorious throne on high from the...", so "partridge" and "hatches" belong inside that flow. In Jeremiah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "partridge" and "hatches" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.