“Therefore thus says Yahweh of hosts.
‘Because you have not obeyed
My words,
I am going to send
For all the tribes of the north.’
Says Yahweh.
‘I am going to send
Even for King Nebuchadnezzar
Of Babylon,
My servant.
I will bring them
Against this land
With its inhabitants.
I will bring them
Against all these nations around.
I will utterly destroy them.
I will make them
An object of horror.
A hissing,
An everlasting disgrace.’”
Yahweh declared, via Jeremiah, that the people of Judah had not obeyed his words. Therefore, there would be an invasion from the north. In particular, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who was the servant of Yahweh, was going to come to this land in order to take away its inhabitants. Note that the king of Babylon was considered a servant of Yahweh, not his opponent. This usage indicates Jeremiah’s favoritism towards Babylon. Yahweh was going to utterly destroy them and their neighbors, so that they would be an object of horror, with people hissing at them in disgrace.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 