הגוזל ומאכיל. והניח לפניהם – or he left [as an inheritance the stolen goods] the theft exists.

פטורים לשלם – if they consumed it after the death of their father and there is nothing discernible left, they are exempt from paying. For they had stolen nothing, and movables are not mortgaged to the creditor, but if they had not consumed it and there was something discernable left, they are obligated to return it (i.e., the stolen goods).

אם היה דבר שיש בו אחריות – meaning to say, if their father left them mortgaged property (or property which may be resorted to in case of non-payment), they are obligated to repay [what was stolen] even though they had already consumed it. This is how our Mishnah is reconciled in the Gemara (Talmud Bava Kamma 111b). But regarding the Halakhic decision, He who steals and feeds his children, whether they consumed it before despair [of the original owner ever recouping what was stolen from him] or whether they consumed it after despair [of the owner] they are obligated to pay back from the monies that their father left them, whether from mortgaged property or whether from that which cannot be resorted to (i.e., movables) and today, movables are mortgaged to the creditor But if the thief did not leave anything [for his children], if the children consumed the stolen goods before despair [of the original owner of ever recouping them], they are obligated to return it from their own [estate]. But if it is after despair [of the original owner] that they consumed it, they are not obligated to pay back from their own [estates] other than if their father had left it for them.

אין פורטין – do not exchange Selas for Perutot (i.e., pennies).

מתיבת המוכסין – to take Perutot (i.e. pennies) from treasury [of the publicans] where they place the monies of the taxes.

ולא מכיס של [גבאים] -the king’s collectors who collect capitation taxes and taxes from crops and other famer’s produces delivered in kind because they are from theft, and especially the heathen custom -collectors or the Israelite custom-collector/publican who is not limited by legal stipulations (see Talmud Bava Kamma 113a), who takes whatever he wants. But an Israelite publican who was appointed even by a heathen king and takes a fixed stipulation according to the law of the kingdom is not under the presumption of being a thief, and one may exchange coins from his treasury and not only this but also, it is forbidden to fell from his taxes, for the law of the land is the law/דינא דמלכותא דינא.

מתוך ביתו – from the tax collector who is presumed to be a thief.

או מן השוק – if he has monies in his house or in the market which are not from the tax treasury box, and if a person is liable some pennies to the tax collector from the tax of one-half Dinar and he doesn’t have the Perutot/pennies, one gives him a silver Dinar and he receives from the Perutot equivalent to half its value and even though he gives it to him from the tax treasury box because it is like he rescuing him from his hand.

הרי אלו שלו – for undefined the owners have despaired immediately, and this one acquired it through despair [of the original owner] and the change of domain.

אם נתיאשו הבעלים – for we learned that regarding despair, when they say, Woe is Me for the loss of money, but not if it is not defined. The first section of the Mishnah [deals with] when the robbers took his clothing, that is undefined, that the owners resign their possession – we are speaking of Jewish thieves, for since the Jewish laws state: bring witnesses, bring proof, for when the robbers take it they (i.e., the owners) despair, but the concluding section of the Mishnah deals with heathen robbers for heathen judges judge with haughtiness and physical might, and when they state an opinion, it is without witnesses and without proof and those who suffered theft from them do not despair. But because of this, if we hear about this, it surely refers to despair, but, undefined, it is not.

נחיל של דבורים – a collection [of bees] gathered together with their sovereign.

לא יקוץ את השוכה – the bees settled upon the bough of his fellow and was afraid to take one at a time so that they should not flee, he should not cut the branch entirely, and even on condition of giving the money.

רבי ישמעאל וכו' – But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yishmael.

המכיר כליו וספריו וכו' – Our Mishnah [deals] with a person who is not used to selling his utensils, for since a report of a theft had לוקח gone forth in the city, and there are witnesses that these were his utensils and books, we don’t suspect that perhaps he actually sold them.

נשבע לוקח כמה נתן ויטול – and he should return to him his utensils, and we are speaking about the time before despair.

אין לו אלא שכרו – payment for the utensil and payment for the labor (of preserving the other’s honey).

שטף נהר חמורו – it is necessary to teach two segments of our Mishnah, for it (i.e., the Mishnah) had taught [only] the first part, I would think that it is there when he specifies, that they give him the cost of everything, because that which is in his hands, he loses when he spills his wine by his own hands for him. But in the concluding part [of the Mishnah] that of itself, I would say that he has nothing other than his salary/pay , but if we were to teach only the concluding section [of the Mishnah], here when it is undefined, he would have nothing other than his salary/payment of itself, but there (in the first part of the Mishnah dealing with a jar of wine and pitcher of honey) when it is in their hands, I would say, even when undefined, he should give him the cost of everything, Hence it is necessary [to teach both].

נטלוה מסיקין – violent men stole it from the thief. The Aramaic translation of [מסיקין] the shrieking of locusts (possibly cricket – see Talmud Bava Kamma 116b), for the locust is a thief, which eats other’s fields.

אם מכח מדינה היא – which took by force the fields of others with this.

על מנת לצאת במדבר – not that he should say to him explicitly: “on condition that you go out into the wilderness, and you should repay me”, for this is a simple matter. But even if his fellow said to him: “Let me make this deposit with you, for I am going out in the wilderness.” But the other said to him, “and I also want to go out to the wilderness”, and now, if he wants to restore it to him in the wilderness, he can return it to him.

האומר לחבירו גזלתיך וכו' - and for example, that his fellow claims evidently/with certainty that you stole from me, and he says, it is true that I stole from you. But if he doesn’t know if I returned it to you, he is liable to pay. But if his fellow claims that perhaps you stole from me or I lent you, and he (i.e., the other) states, it is true truthfully, I stole from you or you let me, but he doesn’t know if he restored it (i.e., the lent object), he is exempt from the laws of mankind, and if he wants to fulfill according to the [Laws of] heaven, he should pay him.

איני יודע אם גזלתיך וכו' – he is exempt from paying. But however, he should take an oath that he doesn’t know that he is liable to him, for pleading ignorance or offering a possible alternative is not preferable to a certainty, But alternatively, if he would make a claim to him that he doesn’t have in his hand anything, he would have him take the equitable oath. (This is applied, if one who is sued for a debt, denies the latter entirely, in contradistinction to the legal oath which is required when the defendant admits a part of the claim. It being presumed that nobody will go to law unless he has a claim, it is a matter of equity to put the opponent to an oath, to which he may in return put the claimant. See Talmud Shevuot 40b).

חייב באחריותו – for once he stole it, it exists in his domain, and the restoration that he made is not a restoration (without notifying the owner of such).

ואם לא ידעו בו וכו' – This is how our Mishnah is reconciled, he is responsible for it, whether he counted them or not. When is this case? When they (i.e., the owners) did not know of its theft and its restoration. But if they knew of the theft and counted the sheep and found it (i.e., the number) to be complete, he is exempt from paying. And this is its explanation: if the lamb died or was stolen after the thief returned it, the thief is responsible for it – whether the owners had counted the sheep and it is complete, or whether they had not counted the sheep. When is this the case? When the owners did not know about the theft of the lamb, for any of the sheep that regularly go outside, he must be careful with it even more, and this is the case, for since the owners did not know about its theft or that it was accustomed to leave, and they were not careful with it. The thief is liable to pay as the sheep were lost because of his indirect effect. But, if the owners knew about the theft of the lamb, and afterwards counted the sheep and found it to be complete, as the stolen lamb had been returned. If so, they already know that there is one sheep that regularly leaves outside, and they have to be careful with it. But if they were not careful, they would lose, and the thief is exempt from having to pay.

אין לוקחין מן הרועים – for one can say that perhaps they (i.e., the shepherds) stole – we found that of the owner that was handed over to them.

צמר ביהודה ופשתן בגליל – it is the labor of women, and they themselves make it and sell it, with the knowledge of their owners.

ועגלים הרוים בשרון – the name of a place (i.e. Sharon) where they raise calves and they are theirs.

מוכין שהכובס מוציא – from the white matter of the wool, he removes from the wool a small thing through rinsing with cold water.

הרי אלו שלו – for the [house] holder is not stringent, but if he had been stringent, he did not mind that it should be exactly as he wanted it (i.e., he had no legal objection).

ושהמורק מוציא – He who combs the wool and hatchels it, what he removes is an important matter, and they are regularly strict.

הכובס נוטל שלשה חוטים – it is the manner of wool garments to leave at the end of their weaving three threads from a different kind. And the washer/launderer takes them and harmonizes the garment and beautifies it. But if there are black threads woven into a white garment, the washer is permitted to take everything because the black in a white [garment] puts it to shame the most.

החייט ששייר מן החוט כדי לתפור בו – which is as long as the needle.

והמטלית שהיא שלש על שלש – we have the reading חייט/tailor who evened his stitches and trimmed from it a small patch three fingers by three fingers, he is liable to return it to the owner of the garment.

מעצד – a utensil/tool that a carpenter uses to smooth the face of the board and the chips that he removes are thin.

כשיל – a hatchet/spade that removes the large chips.

אצל בעל הבית – as a day [paid] laborer.

אף הנסורת – extremely thin [sawdust] that is under the borer which are very thin belong to the owner of the house.