Here we are to imagine the three young men sitting and imagining what fine things the king might give the winner as a reward for his wisdom. They are not predicting what the king will do—in fact, the king does none of these—but really dreaming about how rich the winner might become.

He shall be clothed in purple: The relatively limited source of dye for the purple color and the complicated process for its production made purple cloth extremely expensive and thus available only to kings and the richest families. In time the color came to be associated with royalty. Here the important element is not the color purple but the high rank implied by cloth of that color. So Good News Bible renders this clause as “He will wear royal robes.” Contemporary English Version says “The winner will get to wear purple robes,” which implies that wearing that color is an unusual privilege.

And drink from gold cups is literally “and drink from golden things.” The idea of cups is implied here.

And sleep on a gold bed is literally “and sleep on gold.” The idea of a bed is implied here.

And have a chariot with gold bridles is literally “and a gold-bridled chariot.” For chariot see the comments on 1 Esd 1.28. This chariot was probably for traveling, not for war. Bridles are straps, usually of leather, placed around the head of a horse so that the reins can be attached. The driver of the chariot held one end of the reins; the other end was attached to the horses’ bridles. The metal parts of these bridles were made of gold. At this time in history, the splendor of a ruler was demonstrated not only by what the ruler himself wore, but also by the equipment worn by his horses. Compare Est 6.8-9.

And a turban of fine linen: A turban is a kind of headdress fashioned by wrapping a long band of cloth around and around the head. Linen is a high quality cloth made from the stems of the flax plant. It was known for its strength and coolness. If this cloth is unknown in a language, translators may render fine linen as “beautiful white cloth” or simply “fine cloth.”

And a necklace about his neck: In English the phrase about his neck is redundant, since the word necklace refers to an ornament hung around the neck. So Good News Bible and Contemporary English Version omit this phrase, which other languages may find helpful.

Here is an alternative model for this verse in indirect speech, but in some languages it will continue to be in direct speech:

• He would get to wear purple robes, drink from gold cups, and sleep on a gold bed. He would have gold bridles for his chariot. He would have a turban of fine linen, and wear a necklace [around his neck].

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.