Description
The train was a long cloth that extended from the bottom of a robe or dress, dragging behind a person as he or she walked. Sometimes a servant would walk behind holding the train off of the ground, so that it would not become dirty.
Translation
ISA 6:1: Translations treat the Hebrew word shulayim here with varying degrees of precision. Thus KJV has “his train,” which is the exact meaning but may not be well understood by the modern reader. REB “skirt of his robe” and NRSV “hem of his robe” focus on the bottom edge of the long robe (see Hem, corner of a garment). Common-language translations tend to refer to the whole garment by saying “his robe” (GNT, CEV). NCV is good with “His long robe.”
In ESG 5:1 it will normally be sufficient to say something like “the other holding up a long part of her robe which extended behind her.” Where the idea of a “train” is unknown, it will be important to indicate that the cloth extended well behind Esther and to not give the impression that the servant is lifting up the bottom of her dress.