A favorite expression of the prophet Jeremiah by which he describes generally the enemies that invade and devastate a country--with special reference to enemies that invade Judah (Jer 12:12; 15:8); to enemies who devastate Moab (48:8,18); to enemies from the North who are to assail Babylon (51:48), and in one case (6:26) to Nebuchadrezzar making an irresistible advance upon Jerusalem. the American Standard Revised Version uniformly renders "destroyer."