And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.

And he said, A hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bond, and sit down quickly and write fifty.

But he said: An hundred barrels of oil. And he said to him: Take thy bill and sit down quickly, and write fifty.

And he said, A hundred baths of oil. And he said to him, Take thy writing and sit down quickly and write fifty.

and he said, A hundred baths of oil; and he said to him, Take thy bill, and having sat down write fifty.

"'A hundred firkins of oil,' he replied. "'Here is your account,' said the steward: 'sit down quickly and change it into fifty firkins.'

And he said, A hundred measures of oil. And he said, Take your account straight away and put down fifty.

So he said, 'One hundred jars of oil.' And he said to him, 'Take your invoice, and quickly, sit down and write fifty.'

'Four hundred and forty gallons of oil,' answered the man. 'Here is your agreement,' he said; 'sit down at once and make it two hundred and twenty.'

A hundred measures - The measure here mentioned is the "bath" which contained, according to Dr. Arbuthnot's tables, 7 12 gallons, or, according to the marginal note, about 9 gallons and 3 quarts.
Oil - Oil of olives, or sweet oil. It was much used for lamps, as an article of food Exodus 29:2, and also for anointing, and, of course, as an article of commerce, 1-Kings 5:11. These were persons, doubtless, who had "rented" land of the rich man, and who were to give him a certain proportion of the produce.
Thy bill - The contract, obligation, or "lease." It was probably written as a "promise" by the debtor and signed by the steward, and thus became binding. Thus he had power to alter it, without supposing that his master would detect it. The bill or contract was in the hands of the steward, and he gave it back to him to write a new one.
Quickly - He supposed that his master would soon remove him, and he was, therefore, in haste to have all things secure beforehand. It is worthy of remark, also, that "all" this was wrong. His master had called for the account: but, instead of rendering it, he engaged in other business, disobeyed his lord still, and, in contempt of his commands, sought his own interest. All sinners would be slow to give in their account to God if they could do it; and it is only because, when God calls them by death, they "cannot but go," that they do not engage still in their own business and disobey him.

A hundred measures of oil - Ἑκατον βατους, A hundred baths. The בת bath was the largest measure of capacity among the Hebrews, except the homer, of which it was the tenth part: see Ezekiel 45:11, Ezekiel 45:14. It is equal to the ephah, i.e. to seven gallons and a half of our measure.
Take thy bill - Thy account - το γραμμα. The writing in which the debt was specified, together with the obligation to pay so much, at such and such times. This appears to have been in the hand-writing of the debtor, and probably signed by the steward: and this precluded imposition on each part. To prevent all appearance of forgery in this case, he is desired to write it over again, and to cancel the old engagement. In carrying on a running account with a tradesman, it is common among the Hindoos for the buyer to receive from the hands of the seller a daily account of the things received; and according to this account, written on a slip of paper, and which remains in the hands of the buyer, the person is paid.

And he said an hundred measures of oil,.... Or "baths of oil", the same quantity as in Ezra 7:22 where Aben Ezra (i) calls them, "measures", as we do here; and Jarchi (k) observes, that they were, , "to mingle with the meal, or flour offerings"; which illustrates the above observation, that they were for the temple service; and the bath was the measure of oil, as the ephah was of wheat (l); and they were both of the same quantity, Ezekiel 45:11. According to Godwin (m) it held four gallons and a half; so that a hundred of them contained four hundred and fifty gallons; though some make the measure much larger. Some say the "bath" held six gallons, one pottle, and half a pint; and others, seven gallons, two quarts, and half a pint; and others, nine gallons, and three quarts.
Take thy bill, or "writing"; which showed the bargain made for so many measures; and which acknowledged the receipt of them, and promised payment:
and sit down quickly; for his case required haste;
and write fifty; just half; that it might appear he had bought but fifty, and was accountable for no more.
(i) In Ezra. vii. 22. (k) In ib. (l) Kimchi in Ezek. xlv. 14. (m) Moses & Aaron, l. 6. c. 9.