And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A (a) measure of wheat for a penny, (5) and three measures of barley for a penny; and [see] thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
(a) It is here signified how little grain there was, for the word used here is a unit of measure for dry things, about an eighth of a bushel, which was a typical daily ration given to servants. (5) I would rather interpret and read the words this way, "And the wine and the oil you will not distribute unjustly." In this sense likewise the wine and the oil will be sold a very little for a penny. You will not distribute unjustly, namely, when you measure out a very little for a great price: so are the times evident: otherwise it would be true, as the wise man says, that whoever withholds the grain will be cursed by the people; (Proverbs 11:26).