Why does the Lord warn the exiles not to be deceived by “your prophets and your diviners who are among you”?
The Lord warns the exiles not to listen to the prophets and diviners among them. It would seem that diviners had become a common phenomenon among the people of Judah (see Jeremiah 14:14; Jeremiah 27:9). Some may have been taken into exile with the rest or some from among the exiles may have taken on this practice which was common in Babylon1 . Neither these diviners, nor especially the prophets, were sent by the Lord and their message was a lie. The content of their message is not given here, but in the context of the chapter and the larger section (Jeremiah 26:1–29:32), it is clear that they were proclaiming a message similar to that of Hananiah saying that the exiles would soon be returned to their land. It is not difficult to see how this false message would find listeners eager to hear what their itching ears longed for.
8 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream,