What is the meaning of the terms, “false,” “deceptive,” and “misleading,” as ascribed to the prophets and their message?

These words are found in the first and last lines of Lamentations 2:14: Your prophets have seen for you false and deceptive visions and they have seen for you oracles that are false and misleading. The word translated as false also refers to emptiness. The words of the false prophets were empty because they lacked the genuine revelation of God. It could also be depicted as worthless because it had no meaning for the people, apart from deceiving them. Therefore, these empty words were a deceitful sham. This is the meaning of the adjective deceptive. It also bears the meaning of whitewash, a coating of ground lime applied to a wall to make it smooth and white (see also Ezekiel 13:11–14). The false prophets were engaged in a religious cover-up of the serious sin of the people.¹