Esther 1:7

7 Wine was served in goblets of gold, each one different from the other, and the royal wine was abundant, in keeping with the king’s liberality.

Esther 1:7 in Other Translations

KJV
7 And they gave them drink in vessels of gold, (the vessels being diverse one from another,) and royal wine in abundance, according to the state of the king.
ESV
7 Drinks were served in golden vessels, vessels of different kinds, and the royal wine was lavished according to the bounty of the king.
NLT
7 Drinks were served in gold goblets of many designs, and there was an abundance of royal wine, reflecting the king’s generosity.
MSG
7 Drinks were served in gold chalices, each chalice one-of-a-kind. The royal wine flowed freely - a generous king!
CSB
7 Beverages were served in an array of gold goblets, each with a different design. Royal wine flowed freely, according to the king's bounty

Esther 1:7 Meaning and Commentary

Esther 1:7

They gave them drink in vessels of gold, the vessels being
divers one from another
In the pattern and workmanship of them, though of the same metal, which diversity made the festival the more grand; earthen cups, with the Persians, were reckoned very mean; when a king would disgrace a man, he obliged him to use earthen cups F4. The Targum represents these vessels to be the golden vessels of the temple at Jerusalem Nebuchadnezzar carried away; which could not be, since they had been delivered by Cyrus to Zerubbabel, ( Ezra 1:7-10 ) ,

and royal wine in abundance, according to the state of the king;
such as the king was able to give, the best he had, and that in great plenty; the wine the kings of Persia used to drink, as Strabo F5 relates, was Chalybonian wine, or wine of Helbon, as it is called, ( Ezekiel 27:18 ) , (See Gill on Ezekiel 27:18), but by the wine of the kingdom, as it may be rendered, is meant wine of the country; the wine of Schiras is reckoned the best in Persia F6.


FOOTNOTES:

F4 Ctesias in Athenaei Deipnosoph. l. 11.
F5 Geograph. l. 15. p. 505.
F6 Universal History, vol. 5. p. 85.

Esther 1:7 In-Context

5 When these days were over, the king gave a banquet, lasting seven days, in the enclosed garden of the king’s palace, for all the people from the least to the greatest who were in the citadel of Susa.
6 The garden had hangings of white and blue linen, fastened with cords of white linen and purple material to silver rings on marble pillars. There were couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl and other costly stones.
7 Wine was served in goblets of gold, each one different from the other, and the royal wine was abundant, in keeping with the king’s liberality.
8 By the king’s command each guest was allowed to drink with no restrictions, for the king instructed all the wine stewards to serve each man what he wished.
9 Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Xerxes.

Cross References 1

  • 1. Esther 2:18; Daniel 5:2
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