The meaning of this verse is that wine makes everyone feel as if they are “on top of the world,” rich, with no responsibility to anyone, including rulers.

It makes all hearts feel rich: Wine makes everyone behave as if they were rich. This clause may be rendered “It makes everyone feel that they are wealthy people.”

Forgets kings and satraps literally says that wine forgets rulers, but it obviously means that drinking wine makes people forget to obey their rulers. For satraps see the comments on verses 1-2. Contemporary English Version renders this clause as “And sometimes, wine even makes people forget that they have to obey the king and his governors.”

And makes every one talk in millions is literally “and makes everyone talk in talents.” For “talents,” which was a large unit of money, see the comments on 1 Esd 1.35-36. This clause means that when drunk, ordinary people may talk as if they were fabulously rich. Good News Bible says “and talk as if he owned the whole world,” which is an excellent model in English.

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.