O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts.
The prophets spoken of are false prophets, false shepherds of Israel, pictured as foxes among desert wastes. As desert foxes slip away and hide rather than face what confronts them, so these prophets slip away from the truth instead of confronting it. By that evasion they fail to protect God's people, leaving the flock exposed and moving toward spiritual ruin. That failure is spelled out in what follows: they have not repaired the gaps in the wall and have not strengthened the people, so that Israel might be able to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord.
The prophets spoken of are false prophets, false shepherds of Israel, pictured as foxes among desert wastes. As desert foxes slip away and hide rather than face what confronts them, so these prophets slip away from the truth instead of confronting it. By that evasion they fail to protect God's people, leaving the flock exposed and moving toward spiritual ruin. That failure is spelled out in what follows: they have not repaired the gaps in the wall and have not strengthened the people, so that Israel might be able to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord.