“Because,
In truth,
They have misled
My people.
They said.
‘Peace,’
When there is no peace.
When the people
Build a wall,
These prophets smear
Whitewash on it.
Say to those
Who smear whitewash
On it
That it shall fall!
There will be
A deluge of rain.
Great hailstones
Will fall.
A stormy wind
Will break out.
When the wall falls,
Will it not be said
To you?
‘Where is the whitewash
You smeared on it?’”
These false prophets misled the people of Jerusalem about building a wall. These false prophets talked peace, when there was no peace. When the people built a wall, these prophets smeared whitewash on it. However, their actions would fail. There would be rain, hailstones, and stormy winds, so that the wall would fall. Then they would be asked what happened to the whitewash that was smeared on the wall.