ירמיהו, פרק י״ד, פסוק י״ד

When individuals claim to speak for God, their credibility rests entirely on their divine backing. God completely shatters the authority of the false prophets by systematically detailing their absolute disconnection from Him. This denial follows a descending order of revelation: God clarifies that He never sent them on a mission to the people, He never commanded them to take any action, and He never even spoke a single word to them [מלבי״ם]. Because they were never dispatched by God, they hold no genuine signs or wonders. This lack of authentic proof alone should have been enough to expose their deception to the public [מצודת דוד].

Stripped of any divine source, the true origins of their messages are exposed. Their claims are built on empty nighttime dreams, fabricated illusions, and the mere power of human imagination [מצודת דוד, מצודת ציון, מלבי״ם]. They also draw heavily from divination, astrology, the casting of lots, and idol worship [מצודת ציון, מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם]. At the same time, these individuals were not entirely without skill. They possessed sharp intellects and highly developed imaginations, which occasionally allowed them to experience accurate dreams or successfully predict future events. It was exactly this partial success that confused the people and led them to mistakenly believe these figures were genuine prophets [רד״ק].

The substance of their message is entirely hollow. The primary approach among commentators is that their words are absolute emptiness, representing something that simply does not exist. Their comforting promises that the nation will be spared from war and famine are completely baseless, as the impending disaster will undoubtedly strike [רד״ק].

Ultimately, their prophecies are nothing more than the calculated deceit of their own hearts [מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ, מלבי״ם]. After earning the public's trust through the occasional success of their divination, they exploit that confidence to intentionally trick their audience. They carefully craft soothing messages of peace because they know it is exactly what the people want to hear, driven only by a selfish desire to gain popularity, honor, and love [רד״ק].

Even though God delivers this harsh reality directly to His prophet, the final warning is addressed to the people as a whole. This inclusive phrasing shows that as the message is passed on, the prophet stands together with the rest of Israel, sharing in the collective fate of the nation [רד״ק].