ירמיהו, פרק נ׳, פסוק ג׳

Total destruction is destined to fall upon the land at the hands of a foreign military power. This devastating invasion will leave the region entirely desolate, stripping it of its inhabitants and forcing them into exile.

The invading force arriving from the north is understood to be the kingdom of Media and Persia, which was situated to the northeast [מצודת דוד]. The arrival of the enemy from this specific direction carries a symbolic meaning of measure for measure. Babylon faces an attack from the north precisely because Babylon itself originally attacked Israel from that very same direction [מלבי״ם].

The sheer force of this invasion will transform the land into an absolute wasteland [מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. As a direct result of this complete ruin, the region will be entirely emptied. The surviving inhabitants will be uprooted, wandering away from their homes and moving permanently into exile [מצודת דוד, מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ].