Esther 1:7 in 8 translations
7 distinct wordings, grouped by what each translation is trying to do. Differences from the King James text are marked below.
Early modern English
Seventeenth-century wording and sentence shape. Familiar, rhythmic, and the version most quotations you have heard are taken from.
And they gave drink in vessels of gold, (the vessels being diverse one from another,) and royal wine in abundance, according to the state of the king.
1611 / 1769 · Public domain · The Authorised Version, revised to the 1769 Blayney text. Includes the Apocrypha as printed in 1611.
Literal, word-for-word
Follows Hebrew and Greek word order and grammar closely, even where the English becomes stiff. Useful for seeing what the underlying sentence is doing.
And they gave them drink in vessels of gold (the vessels being diverse one from another), and royal wine in abundance, according to the bounty of the king.
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
And they gave drink in vessels of gold (the vessels being diverse one from another), and royal wine in abundance, according to the king's bounty.
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
and the giving of drink in vessels of gold, and the vessels are divers vessels, and the royal wine is abundant, as a memorial of the king.
1898 · Public domain · The most extreme word-for-word rendering here, keeping Hebrew and Greek tense and word order at the cost of natural English.
Modern English
Contemporary vocabulary and punctuation, aiming for the sentence a present-day reader would write while staying close to the source.
They gave them drinks in golden vessels of various kinds, including royal wine in abundance, according to the bounty of the king.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
These 2 editions word this verse identically.
Drink was brought in vessels of gold – which were all different – and the king’s wine was provided with royal liberality.
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
Simplified English
Built from a deliberately small vocabulary so the sense stays reachable for new readers and non-native speakers. Trades nuance for clarity.
And they gave them drink in gold vessels, every vessel being different, and wine of the kingdom, freely given by the king.
1949 · Public domain · Written with roughly a thousand basic English words plus a small Bible vocabulary. The plainest reading available here.
What changes between the King James and modern wording
The modern rendering is printed below with every word that differs from the King James text marked, so the actual divergence is visible rather than left for you to spot.
they gave them drinks in golden vessels of various kinds, including royal wine in abundance, according to the bounty of the king.
Word-for-word swaps
- drink→them
- and→various
- state→bounty
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.