10On the seventh day, when the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha and Abagtha, Zethar and Carkas, the seven eunuchs who attended him,
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “eunuch” in English is translated in Low German as “man (or: person) who does not have male strength” (Minsch, de ehr Mannskraft nicht hebt) (translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006). Similarly, in the German Luther Bible it is translated as Entmannter or “de-masculated.” (Source: Jost Zetzsche)
When the mentioning of “eunuch” does not play an important part of the story, such as in Esther 2:3 or Esther 1:15, the Elhomwe translation uses “servant or “someone working at the palace” “because otherwise element of being castrated too much emphasis.” (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that are translated as “wine” in English is translated into Pass Valley Yali as “grape juice pressed long ago (= fermented)” or “strong water” (source: Daud Soesilo). In Guhu-Samane it is also translated as “strong water” (source: Ernest L. Richert in The Bible Translator 1965, p. 198ff. ), in Noongar as “liquor” (verbatim: “strong water”) (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang), in Hausa as ruwan inabi or “water of grapes” (with no indication whether it’s alcoholic or not — source: Mark A. Gaddis), in sar as kasə nduú or “grape drink” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin), or in Papantla Totonac and Coyutla Totonac as “a drink like Pulque” (for “Pulque,” see here ) (source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1971, p. 169ff. ).
In Swahili, Bible translations try to avoid local words for alcoholic drinks, because “drinking of any alcohol at all was one of the sins most denounced by early missionaries. Hence translators are uncomfortable by the occurrences of wine in the Bible. Some of the established churches which use wine prefer to see church wine as holy, and would not refer to it by the local names used for alcoholic drinks. Instead church wine is often referred to by terms borrowed from other languages, divai (from German, der Wein) or vini/mvinyo (from ltalian/Latin vino/vinum). Several translations done by Protestants have adapted the Swahili divai for ‘wine,’ while those done by Catholics use vini or mvinyo.” (Source: Rachel Konyoro in The Bible Translator 1985, p. 221ff. )
The Swahili divai was in turn borrowed by Sabaot and was turned into tifaayiik and is used as such in the Bible. Kupsabiny, on the other hand, borrowed mvinyo from Swahili and turned it into Finyonik. (Source: Iver Larsen)
In Nyamwezi, two terms are used. Malwa ga muzabibu is a kind of alcohol that people specifically use to get drunk (such as in Genesis 9:21) and ki’neneko is used for a wine made from grapes (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext).
In some Hindi translations (such as the Common Language version, publ. 2015 ), one term (dākharasa दाखरस — grape juice) is used when that particular drink is in the focus (such as in John 2) and another term (madirā मदिरा — “alcohol” or “liquor”) when drunkenness is in the focus (such as in Eph. 5:18).
In Mandarin Chinese, the generic term jiǔ (酒) or “alcohol(ic drink)” is typically used. Exceptions are Leviticus 10:9, Numbers 6:3, Deuteronomy 29:6, Judges 13:4 et al., 1 Samuel 1:15, and Luke 1:15 where a differentiation between weak and strong alcohol is needed. The Mandarin Chinese Union Version (2010) translates that as qīngjiǔ lièjiǔ (清酒烈酒) and dànjiǔ lièjiǔ (淡酒烈酒), both in the form of a Chinese proverb and meaning “light alcohol and strong drink.” (Source: Zetzsche)
Click or tap here to see a short video clip about wine in biblical times (source: Bible Lands 2012)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Esther 1:10:
Kupsabiny: “That king had seven of his people of the work/work men who were trusted. Those people were: Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zether, and Carcas. At the seventh day while eating/feasting that ceremony, while the ruler had drunk until he was happy, he sent those seven people” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “On the seventh day, the great king having drunk wine was celebrating with joy. And he called his seven attendants who had become eunuchs: Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “On the seventh day of the feast, the king was happy for he had drunk-(wine). He called for his seven personal servants who were serving him. They were Mehuman, Bista, Harbona, Bigta, Abagta, Zetar, and Carkas. He commanded them” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Eastern Bru: “On the seventh day of the feast, the king felt very happy because of the wine he had drunk. So he called seven men who assisted him. Their names were Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha and Abagtha, Zethar and Carkas.” (Source: Bru Back Translation)
English: “On the last/seventh day of those banquets, when King Xerxes was partially drunk from drinking wine, he summoned seven of his personal servants. They were Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as “king” in English. Here are some (back-) translations:
Ninia Yali: “big brother with the uplifted name” (source: Daud Soesilio in Noss 2007, p. 175)
Nyamwezi: mutemi: generic word for ruler, by specifying the city or nation it becomes clear what kind of ruler (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Ghomála’: Fo (“The word Fo refers to the paramount ruler in the kingdoms of West Cameroon. He holds administrative, political, and religious power over his own people, who are divided into two categories: princes (descendants of royalty) and servants (everyone else).” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn))
Faye Edgerton retells how the term in Navajo (Dinė) was determined:
“[This term was] easily expressed in the language of Biblical culture, which had kings and noblemen with their brilliant trappings and their position of honor and praise. But leadership among the Navajos is not accompanied by any such titles or distinctions of dress. Those most respected, especially in earlier days, were their headmen, who were the leaders in raids, and the shaman, who was able to serve the people by appealing for them to the gods, or by exorcising evil spirits. Neither of these made any outward show. Neither held his position by political intrigue or heredity. If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior. If the shaman failed many times in his healing ceremonies, it was considered that he was making mistakes in the chants, or had lost favor with the gods, and another was sought. The term Navajos use for headman is derived from a verb meaning ‘to move the head from side to side as in making an oration.’ The headman must be a good orator, able to move the people to go to war, or to follow him in any important decision. This word is naat’áanii which now means ‘one who rules or bosses.’ It is employed now for a foreman or boss of any kind of labor, as well as for the chairman of the tribal council. So in order to show that the king is not just a common boss but the highest ruler, the word ‘aláahgo, which expresses the superlative degree, was put before naat’áanii, and so ‘aláahgo naat’áanii ‘anyone-more-than-being around-he-moves-his-head-the-one-who’ means ‘the highest ruler.’ Naat’áanii was used for governor as the context usually shows that the person was a ruler of a country or associated with kings.”
Queen Vashti disobeyed the king and he removed her from her position as queen
Towards the end of the feast, when he had drunk too much wine, the king sent a message, ordering the queen to come to him so that he could show off her beauty to his guests. But she probably did not wish to be seen by a crowd of drunken, leering men, and so she refused. The king was very angry about the queen’s disobedience and asked his advisors what the law said about how she should be punished. The advisors said that the king should divorce the queen, in order to show all wives in the empire that they must obey their husbands. The king was pleased with this advice and issued a decree to inform everyone about it.
Paragraph 1:10–12
1:10a
the king’s heart was merry with wine: Literally, “the heart of the king was good with wine.” By the last day of the feast, the king had drunk a lot of wine. If you have alcoholic drinks in your area, you probably have an expression to describe a person who has drunk enough wine to make him think he is very happy. You should use that expression here.
1:10b
eunuchs: Many of the king’s servants were eunuchs, that is, men who had been castrated and therefore could no longer have sexual relations with a women. In ancient times a king would use such men to protect his wives because they would not try to have sexual relations with the women. If a literal translation would shock your readers or be too difficult to translate, then use a word for an important servant, and explain the meaning of “eunuch” in a footnote or in the glossary.
who served him: Literally “who served the face of the king.” This probably refers to the king’s personal servants, who were responsible for looking after him.
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