And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
As Ezekiel 12:1-28 denounced the false expectations of the people, so this denounces the false leaders who fed those expectations. As an independent witness, Ezekiel confirms at the Chebar the testimony of Jeremiah (Ezekiel 29:21,31) in his letter from Jerusalem to the captive exiles against the false prophets, wherein he foretells the slaughter by Nebuchadnezzar of the false prophets Ahab and Zedekiah, who should be roasted in the fire, and the punishment of Shemaiah and his seed for having "caused the people to trust in a lie." Of these some were conscious knaves, others fanatical dupes of their own frauds; e.g., Ahab, Zedekiah, and Shemaiah. Hananiah must have believed his own lie, else he would not have specified so circumstantial details (Jeremiah 28:2-4): the conscious knaves gave only general assurance of "peace" (Jeremiah 5:31; Jeremiah 6:14; Jeremiah 14:13). The language of Ezekiel has plain references to the similar language of Jeremiah (e.g., Jeremiah 23:9-38), the bane of false prophecy, which had its stronghold in Jerusalem, having in some degree extended to the Chebar: this chapter, therefore, is primarily intended as a message to those still in the Jewish metropolis, and secondarily for the good of the exiles at the Chebar.