Luke 16:6 · measurement explained
A debt of 100 batos of oil
The manager asks the first debtor's amount and rewrites one hundred batos of oil as fifty. Batos is the Greek-form capacity related to bath.
Read the verse first
He said, ‘A hundred batos of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’
World English Bible · engwebp-source-2026-09-12
Modern measurement range
One hundred batos (baths)
2,100–2,300 L
554.76–607.6 US gal · 461.93–505.93 Imp gal
Using the bath estimate. The bath and dry ephah are paired as equal capacities in Ezekiel 45, while the material placed in them may weigh very differently.
Calculate another amount →Rewritten bill: fifty
1,050–1,150 L
277.38–303.8 US gal · 230.97–252.96 Imp gal
Using the bath estimate. The bath and dry ephah are paired as equal capacities in Ezekiel 45, while the material placed in them may weigh very differently.
Calculate another amount →The litre and gallon results reveal a large commodity debt; they do not value the oil or endorse the manager's conduct.
What this conversion does—and does not—show
It gives a defensible modern scale for the amount stated in the verse. Ancient standards varied by time and place, so the endpoints are deliberately approximate. A volume is not a food mass, a metal weight is not a modern cash value, and a conversion does not settle a textual, archaeological, or theological debate.
Conversion references: ESV weights and measures ↗, American Bible Society ↗, and Encyclopedia of the Bible ↗. Reference pages accessed October 10, 2026.