Luke 16:6

Every parable explains the essence of some subject in a concealed and figurative manner, but it is not in all respects similar to the subject for the explanation of which it is employed. Therefore one should not interpret all parts of a parable down to …

And he said to him: A hundred measures of oil, through faithful acknowledgment of the debt. For each person ought faithfully to acknowledge his own debt, lest perchance that word of Revelation three be said to him: "You say: I am rich and made wealthy …

And he said an hundred measures of oil,.... Or "baths of oil", the same quantity as in Ezr 7:22 where Aben Ezra (i) calls them, מדות, "measures", as we do here; and Jarchi (k) observes, that they were, לבלול מנחות, "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, Eze 45:

); so he reduced his debt to the one half. Observe, he was in haste to have it done: " Sit down quickly, and do it, lest we be taken treating, and suspected." He took another, who owed his lord a hundred measures of wheat, and from his bill he cut off a fifth part, and bade him write fourscore (

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation

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 Eze 45:11, Eze 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.

The passage we have now read is a difficult one. There are knots in it which perhaps will never be untied, until the Lord comes again. We might reasonably expect that a book written by inspiration, as the Bible is, would contain things hard to be understood. The fault lies not in the book, but in our own feeble understandings. If we learn nothing else from the passage before us, let us learn humility. Let us beware, in the first place — that we do not draw lessons from these verses which they were never meant to teach.

The passage we have now read is a difficult one. There are knots in it which perhaps will never be untied, until the Lord comes again. We might reasonably expect that a book written by inspiration, as the Bible is, would contain things hard to be understood. The fault lies not in the book, but in our own feeble understandings. If we learn nothing else from the passage before us, let us learn humility. Let us beware, in the first place — that we do not draw lessons from these verses which they were never meant to teach. The steward whom our Lord describes, is not set before us as a pattern of morality. He is distinctly called the "unjust steward." The Lord Jesus never meant to sanction dishonesty, and unfair dealing between man and man. This steward cheated his master, and broke the eighth commandment. His master was struck with his ingenuity and forethought, when he heard of it — and commended him as a shrewd and far-seeing man. But there is no proof that his master was pleased with his conduct. Above all, there is not a word to show that the man was praised by Christ. In short, in his treatment of his master, the steward is a beacon to be avoided — and not a pattern to be followed. The caution, now laid down, is very necessary. Commercial dishonesty is unhappily very common in these latter days. Honest dealing between man and man is increasingly rare. Men do things in the way of business — which will not stand the test of the Bible . In "making haste to be rich," thousands are continually committing actions which are dishonest. (Proverbs 28:20.) Sharpness and smartness, in bargaining, and buying, and selling, and pushing trade — are often covering over dishonest hearts. The generation of "the unjust steward" is still a very large one. Let us not forget this.

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 Exo 29:2, and also for anointing, and, of course, as an article of commerce, 1Ki 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.