Drinks were served: this passive construction may need to be restated; for example, “The king’s servants served [or, gave] drinks….”
Goblet is a general term that may be used to refer to drinking vessels of different sizes and shapes. Goblets of different kinds means that they were all different in appearance, a fact that emphasizes the wealth of the king. Existing goblets from this period show that some of these goblets were made in the shapes of animals at the base and covered with silver or gold.
Royal wine: wine in this context is a fermented drink made from the juice of grapes. If grape wine is not known in the receptor language area, it may be necessary to use a general term for fermented beverages. However, because of the importance of the grapevine, vineyards, and wine in the history of Israel, and as a symbol in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, a way should be found to express each of the terms in translation. In some areas the name of a local vine that is related to the grapevine and that produces fruits may be used for the biblical grapevine. Sometimes borrowed words may be used where wine is well known in recent times. However, wine should not be translated as “whisky,” nor should it be rendered “grape juice” without reference to fermentation. Royal wine is the kind of wine that the king himself drank, that is, the wine from the king’s own supply (Louis Segond [Segond] “the king’s wine”). New Jerusalem Bible says wine “provided by the king.”
According to the bounty of the king is literally “according to the hand of the king.” The meaning of this Hebrew expression is uncertain. The Septuagint translation renders it “which the king himself drinks” (see below). Some translations take it to have adverbial meaning: “in royal style” (Revised English Bible), “royally” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible), or “as befits a king” (New Jerusalem Bible). Bible en français courant speaks of “royal generosity.”
Septuagint 1.7
A miniature cup was displayed: the Hebrew text does not mention this miniature cup. Today’s English Version (similarly Bible en français courant) fails to state that the very valuable cup was a miniature cup, as the Greek word indicates (so Revised English Bible, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Like the Greek, many languages will have a diminutive form or noun class that may be used to indicate that the cup was very small.
Displayed: the miniature cup was set out for viewing by the people who had come to the banquet. It was additional proof of the king’s wealth, and it was exhibited to the guests for them to admire, but not for them to use.
Made of ruby: the Greek word translated as ruby in New Revised Standard Version refers to any of several different precious stones of dark-red color, including the ruby. The Greek does not specify whether the cup was made of ruby, “made from a [single] ruby” (Revised English Bible), or “decorated with” (Today’s English Version, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible) rubies. If rubies are unknown, a description may be used such as “a beautiful red stone” or “a costly red stone.”
Thirty thousand talents was an enormous amount of money; a talent weighed approximately 35 kilograms or 75 pounds. One talent was 6,000 denarii, and a denarius was a day’s wage for casual labor in the New Testament period. Translators will probably find an equivalent expression such as “more than eight hundred tons of silver” (Bible en français courant), or a more general expression such as “of immense value” (Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). On the translation of talents, see also comments on 3.9.
Sweet wine: literally “wine pleasant [to the taste].” Translators will have different ways of expressing this: “sweet wine” (New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente), “good wine” (Today’s English Version, Bible en français courant, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible), “the best wine” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).
Such as the king himself drank is a literal translation of the Greek (so also Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). The meaning is probably more accurately conveyed by Today’s English Version‘s “from the king’s own supply” or Revised English Bible‘s “from the king’s own cellar.” Some languages may have a technical term for the cool place where wine may be stored; other languages may simply refer to the king’s “wine storehouse” or to his own “stock” of wine (Bible en français courant).
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Noss, Philip A. A Handbook on the Book of Esther — Deuterocanon: The Greek Text. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .