For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.
Ver. 3. For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her,] i.e., Out of Media and Persia, which lay northward from Chaldea. The Jews had their bane out of the north (as had been foretold, Jer 1:14-15), scil., from Babylon. And now Babylon is to be baned from the same quarter. This was some comfort, doubtless, to the poor Jews in captivity.
Which shall make her land desolate.] This was not fulfilled till many years after. Cyrus indeed began it, but Seleucus Nicanor finished it, by building near unto it another great city called Seleucia. a
a Plin., lib. vi. cap. 26.