Charles Ellicott Commentary Jeremiah 1:13

"And the word of Jehovah came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a boiling caldron; and the face thereof is from the north." — Jeremiah 1:13 (ASV)

A seething pot; and its face is toward the north. —More correctly, from the north. The next symbol was one that portrayed the darker side of the prophet’s work: a large cauldron (probably of metal) placed (as in Ezekiel’s vision, Ezekiel 24:3–11) on a great pile of burning wood, boiling and steaming, with its face turned from the north, and so about to pour out its scalding contents toward the south.

This was as strong a contrast as possible to the springtime beauty of the almond-bough, and clearly indicated the terrors that were to be expected from the regions that lay to the north of the land of Israel, Assyria and Chaldea. The flood of water at the boiling point went beyond the waters of the great river of Israel’s symbolism (Isaiah 8:7).