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.

JEREMIAH 51:34KJV
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Jeremiah 51:34 (KJV)

What does Jeremiah 51:34 mean?

Jeremiah 51:34 describes how Nebuchadrezzar, the king of Babylon, has completely destroyed and plundered the speaker—using vivid images of being devoured, crushed, and discarded like an empty vessel. The verse uses the metaphor of a dragon swallowing up precious things and then casting out what remains, showing the total devastation Babylon brought.

In this verse, the speaker is the nation of Israel (or more specifically, the people of Judah), expressing their suffering under Babylon’s rule. Jeremiah is recording their lament as they look back on how Nebuchadrezzar has treated them—taking their treasures, destroying their land, and leaving them empty and rejected. The language is intense and personal, capturing the deep sense of loss and humiliation felt by those conquered.

The Hebrew behind Jeremiah 51:34

  • "Devoured" (אָכַל, 'akal): This word means to eat or consume, and here it paints Nebuchadrezzar as someone who has completely consumed the people, not just defeated them.
  • "Dragon" (תַּנִּין, tannin): Often translated as "serpent" or "sea monster," this word adds a mythical, terrifying quality to Babylon’s destruction, suggesting overwhelming and unstoppable force.
  • "Empty vessel" (כְּלִי רֵק, keli req): This phrase means a container that has been emptied out, emphasizing that nothing of value is left after Babylon’s conquest.
  • "Delicates" (מַעֲדַנִּים, ma'adanim): This word refers to precious or delightful things, highlighting that Babylon took not just ordinary goods, but the most treasured possessions.

Why Jeremiah 51:34 matters

  • This verse clarifies the depth of suffering and loss experienced by the people of Judah under Babylon, using strong imagery to communicate their pain.
  • The use of the dragon metaphor connects to other ancient Near Eastern stories of chaos monsters, making Babylon’s destruction feel even more overwhelming and inescapable.
  • Jeremiah 51:34 sets up the context for the following verses, where God promises to judge Babylon for these very actions, showing that the suffering described here is not the end of the story.

Where else these words appear

“delicates” Hebrew H5730 · used in 4 verses

  • Genesis 18:12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?
  • 2 Samuel 1:24 Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with other delights, who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel.
  • Psalms 36:8 They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.

“out” Hebrew H1740 · used in 4 verses

  • 2 Chronicles 4:6 He made also ten lavers, and put five on the right hand, and five on the left, to wash in them: such things as they offered for the burnt offering they washed in them; but the sea was for the priests to wash in.
  • Isaiah 4:4 When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.
  • Ezekiel 40:38 And the chambers and the entries thereof were by the posts of the gates, where they washed the burnt offering.

“empty” Hebrew H7385 · used in 12 verses

  • Leviticus 26:16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
  • Psalms 2:1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
  • Isaiah 49:4 Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the LORD, and my work with my God.

“crushed” Hebrew H2000 · used in 13 verses

  • Exodus 14:24 And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians,
  • Judges 4:15 And the LORD discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet.
  • Esther 9:24 Because Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur, that is, the lot, to consume them, and to destroy them;