ירמיהו, פרק ו׳, פסוק י״ד

Faced with a deep national crisis, the leaders of the people have a choice in how to guide their nation. While true prophets demand difficult moral accountability and rigorous spiritual work, the false prophets and priests opt for a much more comfortable path, offering a dangerous illusion of safety [רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

These leaders treat the impending disaster and the distress of the people as if it were a physical illness. However, instead of administering the intensive and difficult treatment that such a critical condition requires, their version of healing is simply erasing the people's anxiety about the coming catastrophe [מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם]. The primary approach among commentators is that this is done with complete carelessness and a lack of effort. It is far easier to casually toss out calming words than to demand genuine national reform, resulting in a highly superficial cure for a severe disease [רש״י, מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Other commentators add that this approach is fundamentally shameful, as the leaders attempt to heal the nation using cheap, worthless statements that carry no real substance [רד״ק, מצודת דוד, מצודת ציון]. Ultimately, the very nature of their supposed medical intervention is nothing more than a shallow bandage over a fatal wound [מלבי״ם].

This empty remedy takes the form of endless promises of peace. The false prophets assure the public that everything is fine and that the national body is entirely healthy, even though it is actually broken and completely shattered [מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. These false promises are rooted in a total denial of reality. While the enemy steadily approaches and attacks daily, the false prophets simply deny the danger, remaining entirely indifferent to their own lies [רד״ק, מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ].