Albert Barnes Commentary Jeremiah 47:2

"Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, waters rise up out of the north, and shall become an overflowing stream, and shall overflow the land and all that is therein, the city and them that dwell therein; and the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall wail." — Jeremiah 47:2 (ASV)

Waters rise up - A metaphor for the assembling of an army (compare to the marginal references).

Out of the north - The Chaldaean army must cross the Euphrates at Carchemish.

An overflowing flood - Or, “torrent.” To understand the metaphors of the Bible we must keep the natural phenomena of the country in mind. In Palestine rivers are torrents, dashing furiously along in the rainy seasons, and dry, or nearly so, in the summer.

All that is therein - The marginal rendering contrasts the wealth of Egypt, which forms its fullness, and the inhabitants.