The answer
The two colors scarlet and purple were not always distinguished during New Testament time. Consequently these different colors names might refer to one and the same color.Scarlet is a shade of red which derived from the Hebrew word "tola`ath", and has been translated by both "scarlet" and "crimson" (Greek kokkinos). The ancients gave the name "purple" to any color that had a mixture of "red" in it. A Chaldaic word for purple has been translated "scarlet" in three different verses in the King James Version (Dan 5:7,16,29).
Answered by His Eminence Metropolitan Youssef (opens in a new tab)