The announcement that an enemy will rise from the north is used many times by Jeremiah to describe the judgment that the Lord brought on Judah, and the other nations, in the form of the Babylonians (Jeremiah 1:14; Jeremiah 4:6; Jeremiah 6:1; Jeremiah 13:20; Jeremiah 15:12; Jeremiah 46:20; Jeremiah 47:2). The same language is used here to describe a nation that will now come against Babylon from the north. This enemy will make Babylon’s land a desolation, and none shall dwell in it, both man and beast shall flee away.
The enemy is not named and the main point seems to be that a great reversal is going to take place. What Babylon had done to others will now happen to her.1
3 “For out of the north a nation has come up against her, which shall make her land a desolation, and none shall dwell in it; both man and beast shall flee away.