Esther 8:15

8:15 Now Mordecai went out from the king’s presence in purple and white royal attire, with a large golden crown and a purple linen mantle. The city of Susa shouted with joy. ¹ 

Jeremiah 10:9

10:9 Hammered-out silver is brought from Tarshish ² 

and gold is brought from Uphaz ³  to cover those idols. ⁴ 

They are the handiwork of carpenters and goldsmiths. ⁵ 

They are clothed in blue and purple clothes. ⁶ 

They are all made by skillful workers. ⁷ 

Ezekiel 27:7

27:7 Fine linen from Egypt, woven with patterns, was used for your sail

to serve as your banner;

blue and purple from the coastlands of Elishah ⁸  was used for your deck’s awning.

Luke 16:19

The Rich Man and Lazarus

16:19 “There was a rich man who dressed in purple ⁹  and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously ¹⁰  every day.

John 19:2

19:2 The soldiers ¹¹  braided ¹²  a crown of thorns ¹³  and put it on his head, and they clothed him in a purple robe. ¹⁴ 

John 19:5

19:5 So Jesus came outside, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. ¹⁵  Pilate ¹⁶  said to them, “Look, here is the man!” ¹⁷ 

Revelation 17:4

17:4 Now ¹⁸  the woman was dressed in purple and scarlet clothing, ¹⁹  and adorned with gold, ²⁰  precious stones, and pearls. She held ²¹  in her hand a golden cup filled with detestable things and unclean things from her sexual immorality. ²² 

Revelation 18:12

18:12 cargo such as gold, silver, ²³  precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, ²⁴  scarlet cloth, ²⁵  all sorts of things made of citron wood, ²⁶  all sorts of objects made of ivory, all sorts of things made of expensive wood, bronze, iron and marble,

Revelation 18:16

18:16 saying,

“Woe, woe, O great city –

dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet clothing, ²⁷ 

and adorned with gold, ²⁸  precious stones, and pearls –

[8:15]  ¹ tn Heb “shouted and rejoiced.” The expression is a hendiadys (see the note on 5:10 for an explanation of this figure).

[10:9]  ² tc Two Qumran scrolls of Jeremiah (4QJer^a and 4QJer^b) reflect a Hebrew text that is very different than the traditional MT from which modern Bibles have been translated. The Hebrew text in these two manuscripts is similar to that from which LXX was translated. This is true both in small details and in major aspects where the LXX differs from MT. Most notably, 4QJer^a, 4QJer^b and LXX present a version of Jeremiah about 13% shorter than the longer version found in MT. One example of this shorter text is Jer 10:3-11 in which MT and 4QJer^a both have all nine verses, while LXX and 4QJer^b both lack vv. 6-8 and 10, which extol the greatness of God. In addition, the latter part of v. 9 is arranged differently in LXX and 4QJer^b. The translation here follows MT which is supported by 4QJer^a.

[10:9]  ³ tn This is a place of unknown location. It is mentioned again in Dan 10:5. Many emend the word to “Ophir” following the Syriac version and the Aramaic Targum. Ophir was famous for its gold (cf. 1 Kgs 9:28; Job 28:16).

[10:9]  ⁴ tn The words “to cover those idols” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[10:9]  ⁵ tn The words “They are” are not in the text. The text reads merely, “the work of the carpenter and of the hands of the goldsmith.” The words are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[10:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “Blue and purple their clothing.”

[10:9]  ⁷ sn There is an ironic pun in this last line. The Hebrew word translated “skillful workers” is the same word that is translated “wise people” in v. 7. The artisans do their work skillfully but they are not “wise.”

[27:7]  ⁸ sn This is probably a reference to Cyprus.

[16:19]  ⁹ sn Purple describes a fine, expensive dye used on luxurious clothing, and by metonymy, refers to clothing colored with that dye. It pictures someone of great wealth.

[16:19]  ¹⁰ tn Or “celebrated with ostentation” (L&N 88.255), that is, with showing off. Here was the original conspicuous consumer.

[19:2]  ¹¹ tn Grk “And the soldiers.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[19:2]  ¹² tn Or “wove.”

[19:2]  ¹³ sn The crown of thorns was a crown plaited of some thorny material, intended as a mockery of Jesus’ “kingship.” Traditionally it has been regarded as an additional instrument of torture, but it seems more probable the purpose of the thorns was not necessarily to inflict more physical suffering but to imitate the spikes of the “radiant corona,” a type of crown portrayed on ruler’s heads on many coins of the period; the spikes on this type of crown represented rays of light pointing outward (the best contemporary illustration is the crown on the head of the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor).

[19:2]  ¹⁴ sn The purple color of the robe indicated royal status. This was further mockery of Jesus, along with the crown of thorns.

[19:5]  ¹⁵ sn See the note on the purple robe in 19:2.

[19:5]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Pilate) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:5]  ¹⁷ sn Look, here is the man! Pilate may have meant no more than something like “Here is the accused!” or in a contemptuous way, “Here is your king!” Others have taken Pilate’s statement as intended to evoke pity from Jesus’ accusers: “Look at this poor fellow!” (Jesus would certainly not have looked very impressive after the scourging). For the author, however, Pilate’s words constituted an unconscious allusion to Zech 6:12, “Look, here is the man whose name is the Branch.” In this case Pilate (unknowingly and ironically) presented Jesus to the nation under a messianic title.

[17:4]  ¹⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the detailed description of the woman, which is somewhat parenthetical in nature.

[17:4]  ¹⁹ tn The word “clothing” is supplied to clarify that the words “purple” and “scarlet” refer to cloth or garments rather than colors.

[17:4]  ²⁰ tn Grk “gilded with gold” (an instance of semantic reinforcement, see L&N 49.29).

[17:4]  ²¹ tn Grk “pearls, having in her hand.” Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[17:4]  ²² tc Several mss (including 1611 1854 2053 Ï^K pc) read “sexual immorality on/of the earth” (πορνείας τῆς γῆς, porneia" th" gh") instead of “her sexual immorality.” Other mss (א sy^h** [co]) read “her sexual immorality and the earth’s” (πορνείας αὐτῆς καὶ τῆς γῆς, porneia" aujth" kai th" gh"). The translation is a rendering of πορνείας αὐτῆς, found in {A 1006 2344 al}. It seems that the first reading “sexuality immorality on/of the earth” was a scribal mistake in which letters may have been confused (auths would have been read as thsghs), or was perhaps influenced by the presence of “of the world” (τῆς γῆς) at the end of v. 5. The original wording seems to be “her sexual immorality”; codex א has conflated the two readings.

[18:12]  ²³ tn Grk “and silver,” but καί (kai) has not been translated before most of these terms since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more

[18:12]  ²⁴ tn On this term BDAG 924-25 s.v. σιρικός states, “per. to silk from Ser, subst. τὸ σιρικόν silk cloth or garments w. other costly materials Rv 18:12.”

[18:12]  ²⁵ tn On the translation of κόκκινον (kokkinon) as “scarlet cloth” see L&N 6.170.

[18:12]  ²⁶ tn On the phrase πᾶν ξύλον θύϊνον (pan xulon quinon) L&N 3.63 states, “pertaining to being made or consisting of citron wood (that is, from a citron tree) – ‘of citron wood.’ καὶ πᾶν ξύλον θύϊνον καὶ πᾶν σκεῦος ἐλεφάντινον ‘and all kinds of things made of citron wood and all kinds of objects made of ivory’ Re 18:12. The citron tree belongs to the citrus family of plants, and it produces a pale yellow fruit somewhat larger than a lemon, the rind of which is often candied. In Re 18:12, however, the focus is upon the fine quality of the wood.”

[18:16]  ²⁷ tn The word “clothing” is supplied to clarify that the words “purple” and “scarlet” refer to cloth or garments rather than colors.

[18:16]  ²⁸ tn Grk “gilded with gold” (an instance of semantic reinforcement, see L&N 49.29).