conspiracy - The false prophets have conspired both to propagate error and to oppose the messages of God’s servants. They are mentioned first, as their bad influence extended the widest.
prey - Their aim was greed of gain, “treasure, and precious things” (Hos 6:9; Zep 3:3, Zep 3:4; Mat 23:14).
made ... many widows - by occasioning, through false prophecies, the war with the Chaldeans in which the husbands fell.