Lamentations 2:14
Thy prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee: and they have not discovered thine iniquity, to turn away thy captivity; but have seen for thee false burdens and causes of banishment. Thy prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee: and they have not discovered thine iniquity, to turn away thy captivity; but have seen for thee false burdens and causes of banishment.
Jeremiah's sorrowful song commemorates in sad strains the severe and awful sufferings that came upon apostate Jerusalem, the people of God. Chapters 2 and 4 describe the tribulation the Jews suffered under the Babylonians, showing that Jerusalem's later destruction was not the greatest tribulation ever experienced by God's people.
God withholds the Spirit of prophecy when the people depart from His law, so that in Jerusalem's apostasy her prophets found no vision from the Lord. Those prophets instead perceived empty and foolish visions and misleading messages about banishment, failing to uncover and expose iniquity in order to turn away captivity. Faithful exposure of sin with a call to turn from it might have turned away the captivity.
The false visions and messages misled the people about the causes of their suffering. Blinded by idolatry, they did not recognize their own transgressions as the reason for their captivity.