Jeremiah now addresses himself to the priests. They would not only have a special interest in the return of the temple treasures, but they had also sided with the false prophets against Jeremiah (see 26.8-9, 11).

Priests: See 1.1.

This people refers to the people whom Jeremiah has been addressing, and is more naturally “the people” (Good News Translation).

For Behold see 1.6.

The vessels of the LORD’s house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon: Most of the temple treasures were carried off by the Babylonian army in 598 B.C. The majority of translations retain “vessels,” though New International Version has “articles” and Bright “furnishings.” The reference would be to every object of value that was movable. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “sacred utensils.” For vessels of the LORD’s house, some translators have used “holy things from the temple used to worship God” or “things for worship from the temple.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Jeremiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2003. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .