Description and usage
Stones of various sizes and weights were used on balance scales to determine the price of produce being sold (see Balance scales). The stones were usually marked with their weights.
Translation
In most of the references above, the weights are a means of determining the amount to be paid for something; that is, they are a tool for conducting business dealings. So in some of the passages the reference to weights may be left implied; for example, in PRO 16:11CEV has “The LORD doesn’t like it when we cheat in business.”
While the Hebrew word ’even literally means “stone,” in the references listed above, where the translator decides to indicate the physical object, it will normally be best to translate ’even as “weight.”