John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 51:34

"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." — Jeremiah 51:34 (ASV)

Here the complaint of the chosen people is mentioned, and Jeremiah did this intentionally so that the Jews might feel assured that their miseries were not overlooked by God. For nothing can distress us so much as to think that God forgets us and disregards the wrongs done to us by the ungodly.

Therefore, the Prophet here places the Israelites in God’s presence, so that they might be convinced in their own minds that they were not disregarded by God, and that He was not indifferent to the unjust and cruel treatment they received from their enemies. This complaint is made as though they were expostulating with God in His presence.

He then says, Devoured me and broken me in pieces has Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. The word to eat, or devour, was enough; but Jeremiah wished to express something more atrocious by adding the word to break in pieces. For he implies that Babylon had not been like a man who devours meat set before him, but that she had been a cruel wild beast, who breaks in pieces the very bones. We now, therefore, understand the Prophet's intention; he amplifies the ferocity of the king of Babylon by saying that God’s people had not only been devoured by him as men swallow down their food, but that they had also been torn in pieces by his teeth, as though he had been a lion, or a bear, or some other wild animal. For these not only devour their prey, but also with their teeth break in pieces whatever is harder than flesh, such as bones.

For the same purpose he adds, He has set me an empty vessel, that is, he has completely exhausted me, as when one empties a large bottle or a cask. Then he says, He has swallowed me like a dragon. This is a comparison different from the former, but still very suitable, for dragons are those who devour a whole animal, and this is what the Prophet means. Although these comparisons do not agree in every detail, yet in their main point they are most appropriate: namely, to show that God allowed His people to be devoured, as though they had been exposed to the teeth of a lion or a bear, or as though they had been prey to a dragon.

He adds, Filled has he his belly with my delicacies, that is, whatever delicacy I had, he has consumed it. He then says, He has cast off the remnants, like wolves and lions and other wild beasts, who, when they have more prey than what satisfies them, choose what is most savory. For they choose the head of a man so that they may eat the brain; they suck the blood, but leave the intestines and whatever they do not like. So also the Prophet says here of the miserable Jews, that they had been so devoured that the enemy, having been satiated, had cast off the remainder.

From this we learn that God’s people had been so exposed to plunder that the conqueror was not only satisfied but also cast away here and there what remained; for satiety, as is well known, produces revulsion.

But the Prophet refers to the condition of the miserable people: their wealth had been swallowed up by the Chaldeans, while their household goods were plundered by the neighboring nations, and the men themselves had been driven into exile, so that a disgraceful scattering occurred. They were then scattered into various countries, and some were left contemptuously in the land. Thus was fulfilled what is said here, He has cast me out, because these wild beasts, the Chaldeans, became satiated; meat was rejected by them because they could not consume all that was presented to them.

By these figurative terms, as has been stated, the extreme calamity of the people is set forth; and the Prophet undoubtedly intended to address such thoughts as might otherwise have proved very harassing to the Jews. For as they found no end to their evils, they might have thought that they had been so cast away by God as to become the most miserable of men.

This is the reason why our Prophet anticipates what might have embittered the minds of the godly and even driven them to despair. He then says that, notwithstanding all that had happened, God had not forgotten His people, for all these things were done as in His sight.

With regard to us, if God were not only to double the calamities of His Church but also to afflict it in an extreme degree, yet what the Prophet says here ought to offer us aid: namely, that God’s chosen people were formerly so consumed that the remainder was cast away in contempt. For the conqueror, though insatiable, still could not consume all that he got as prey, because his cupidity could not contain it.