It makes equal the mind of the king and the orphan, of the slave and the free, of the poor and the rich: Good News Bible renders It makes equal the mind of as “It has exactly the same effect on,” but this model misses the point a little. The point is that once people get drunk, the thinking of any person is no better than any other person’s. In Greek this verse says literally “It makes the understanding of the king and the orphan one….” It may be translated “After drinking wine, a king can think no more clearly than an orphan….” Wine has the same effect on everyone, because “it reduces to the same level the mind of the king and the orphan” (Myers). It is not just that all who drink wine think alike, it is also that their thinking is equally impaired. King and orphan represent the two extremes of power and powerlessness. The other two contrasts are more obvious. Here are alternative models for this verse:

• After drinking wine, a king can think no more clearly than an orphan. The minds of free people are no better than those of slaves; the thinking of rich people no better than that of the poor.

• … Nor can free people think better than slaves, or rich people than poor.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 1-2 Esdras. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.