{As it were a voice} (h(9373) ph(936e)(886e)). "This use of h(9373),
giving a certain vagueness or mysteriousness to a phrase, is one
of the characteristics of the writer's style, e.g.,  8:1  14:3  19:1,6 " (Beckwith). This voice comes from the midst of the four
living creatures, "the protest of nature against the horrors of
famine" (Swete). {A measure} (choinix). Old word for less than
a quart with us, here only in N.T. {Of wheat} (sitou). Old word
for wheat, a number of times in N.T., in Rev. only here and
 18:13 . This was enough wheat to keep a man of moderate appetite
alive for a day. {For a penny} (d(886e)ariou). Genitive of price,
the wages of a day laborer ( Mt 20:2 ), about eighteen cents in
our money today. {Of barley} (krith(936e)). Old word krith(885c),
usually in plural as here. Barley was the food of the poor and it
was cheaper even in the famine and it took more of it to support
life. Here the proportion is three to one (cf.  2Ki 7:18 ). The
proclamation forbids famine prices for food (solid and liquid).
{Hurt thou not} (m(8820)adik(8873)(8869)s). Prohibition with m(885c) and the
ingressive first aorist active subjunctive of adike(935c). See  7:3  9:4  for adike(935c) for injury to vegetable life. "The prohibition
is addressed to the nameless rider who represents Dearth"
(Swete). Wheat and barley, oil and the vine, were the staple
foods in Palestine and Asia Minor.