And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him;
They shall bear the punishment of their iniquity. As they dealt deceitfully with God by seeking answers of peace without repentance so God would let them be dealt deceitfully with by the prophet whom they consulted, God would chastise their sin with a corresponding sin: as they rejected the safe directions of the true light, He would send the pernicious delusions of a false one: prophets would be given them who should re-echo the deceitfulness that already done in their own bosom, to their ruin (Fairbairn). The people had themselves alone to blame, because they were long ago forewarned how to discern and to treat a false prophet (Deuteronomy 13:3); the very existence of such deceivers among them was a sign of God's judicial displeasure (cf. in Saul's case, 1 Samuel 16:14; 1 Samuel 28:6-7).
The punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him - they and the prophet, being the dupes of a common delusion, should be involved in a common ruin.