Jeremiah 51:34
Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out.
Study Note
Study Note
The lament that 'Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me' uses the imagery of a sea-monster (tannin) swallowing up Jerusalem, inverting the Exodus typology where Israel escaped the devouring power of Egypt. The grotesque alimentary language — 'swallowed,' 'filled his belly,' 'cast out,' 'made me an empty vessel' — vividly expresses the total humiliation of Jerusalem's defeat and deportation. Verses 34–40's 'lawsuit against Babylon' (rib) form mirrors the covenant-lawsuit genre of the prophets but here God is prosecuting the imperial oppressor rather than Israel, foreshadowing Babylon's own destruction in the following verses.
Other Translations
Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath, like a monster, swallowed me up, he hath filled his maw with my delicacies; he hath cast me out.
Devoured us, crushed us, hath Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, He hath set us <FI>as<Fi> an empty vessel, He hath swallowed us as a dragon, He hath filled his belly with my dainties, He hath driven us away.
Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, has made a meal of me, violently crushing me, he has made me a vessel with nothing in it, he has taken me in his mouth like a dragon, he has made his stomach full with my delicate flesh, crushing me with his teeth.
Cross References
He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again: God shall cast them out of his belly.
Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:
But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and …
The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken this word.
Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the …
As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the …
And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath …
Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and …
All that found them have devoured them: and their adversaries said, We offend not, because they have sinned against the …
Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will send unto him wanderers, that shall cause him to …