הניזקין שמין להם בעידית – Even though that it is from Torah, as it is written (Exodus 22:4): “[When a man lets his lifestock loose to graze in another’s land, and so allows a field or a vineyard to be grazed bare,] he must make restitution (from the best) for the impairment of that field or vineyard.” This Tanna [of our Mishnah] thinks that it is the best field of the one who suffered damage that is spoken of in the Biblical verse, but for the sake of the social order, the Sages said that the one who caused the damage should pay from the best of his property, even if they (i.e., his properties) are better than the best of the one who suffered the damage, in order that we should be careful from causing damage.

ובעל חוב בבינונית – that from the Torah he does not collect other than from the lowest quality land of the estate, as it is written (Deuteronomy 24:11): “[You must remain outside,] while the man to whom you made the loan brings the pledge out to you.” But it is not the manner of a person to bring out other than the worst of his possessions, but for the sake of the social order, they [i.e., the Sages] said that the borrower pays with his middle-range [property, in order that we not shut the door to borrowers.

וכתובת אשה בזבורית – for we do not suspect her to shut the door, for more than a man wants to marry, a woman wants to be married.

ר"מ אומר כו'- The Halakha is not according to Rabbi Meir.

אין נפרעים מכנסים משועבדים – such as a borrower who sold his middle-range [property] which was mortgaged to the creditor, the creditor cannot seize it from the purchaser if free-standing property remains with the borrower, and even though they are not other than the lowest level property.

אין מוציאין לאכילת פירות ולשבח קרקעות – The one who steals a field and sells it to another [person], who sowed it and caused it to grow and made fruits and the person from whom it was stolen comes and collects it with its fruits from the purchaser, does not pay the purchaser other than the expenses [laid out following the purchase] and the purchaser goes back to the seller and collects the cost of the land from his mortgaged possessions, for he [the thief] sold it to him [the purchaser who was unaware that the land had been stolen] with surety and wrote him a document of sale , and it is a loan document, and the fruit come from free-standing property and not from mortgaged property.

לשבח קרקעות – and similarly, if the purchase increased the value of the property by planting trees or manuring it or doing similar things.

ולמזון אשה והבנות – for it is a condition of the Jewish marriage contract, “for you will dwell in my house and be supported from my possessions, and the female issue that you will have from me will dwell in my house and be supported from my possessions, etc., and when they come to claim their food, they do not collect it other than from free-standing property and not from mortgaged [properties].”

מפני תקון העולם – for they are many which have no limit and no one knows how much they are and one is not able to be careful with this.

והמוצא מציאה – and returned [the lost object], and the owners say that the entirety was not returned.

לא ישבע מפני תקון העולם – for if you say that he should take an oath, there are no individuals who deals with the return of lost objects.

יתומים שסמכו אצל בעל הבית – to do their work at his direction, for an administrator/guardian had not been appointed for them; but nevertheless, he was like an administrator.

אפוטרופוס – In the Roman language they would call a father PATER and children [would be called] POTOS. An explanation of APOTROPOS is the father of minor children.

שמינהו אבי יתומים ישבע – for if not [i.e. if he did not take an oath], that he had benefit from him, he would not have had an administrator, and because of the oath taken, he might shrink from serving as a guardian.

מנוהו בית דין לא ישבע – as a gratuitous favor, as he does this for the Jewish court to accept their words and to trouble himself without pay, and if they bring a dispute [by requiring that] he take an oath [that he was faithful to his task], he can shrink from it [i.e., becoming a guardian].

אבא שאול אומר חילוף הדברים – if he court appointed him, he should take an oath, since the benefit [he receives] has a voice that he is an honorable person [by not stealing from the funds in his care] for the Jewish court relies upon him and because of the oath taken, he will not shrink [from his duties in becoming a guardian]; [on the other hand], if the father of the orphans appointed him, he should not take an oath, as it is a gratuitous favor that he does for him to go to the trouble [of caring for] his children, and if they were to raise a dispute against him [by requiring that] he take an oath, he would shrink from his duties [of serving as a guardian]. And the Halakha is according to Abba Shaul.

המטמא – [he defiles] the pure objects of his fellow.

המדמע – he mixes the heave-offering/sacred donation for the Kohanim with unconsecrated foods and causes it to lose value, as it is necessary to sell it to the Kohanim cheaply.

המנסך – mixing wine poured for libations with kosher wine and it is forbidden to derive benefit [from it].

במזיד חייב – but by law, he would be exempt, for damage that is not discernible in the object itself is not itself called damage (see Talmud Gittin 53a), but for the sake of the social order [we do not do this], so that every person would not go and defile his fellow’s pure objects, and say that I am exempt.

הכהנים שפיגלו – [because of an improper intention in the mind of the officiating Kohen making] the sacrifices [rejectable] in that they slaughtered [the animals] and sprinkled their blood with the thought of eating from them at an inappropriate time, and it as not acceptable to the owners [of the sacrifices].

מזידים – that they knew that they would be invalid by doing this.

חייבים – to pay their value to the owners, for they would have to bring other [sacrifices]; alternatively, it is a donation and is not obligated for indemnity payment. Nevertheless, it is difficult in his eyes that he would not make the sacrificial offering, for he was requested to bring a gift.

על החרשת שהשיאה אביה – and even though she is a completely married woman, for her father had received her betrothal when she was a child/minor, even so she goes free with a Jewish bill of divorce and receives her Jewish bill of divorce while she is deaf-mute; and even though she lacks “knowledge,” since a woman is divorced against her will, therefore, we don’t require “knowledge.”

וכל קטנה בת ישראל שנשאת לכהן – and she is an orphan, and her marriage is not valid other than according to the Rabbis.

שאוכלת בתרומה – according to the Rabbis, for we do not make the decree that [eating] Terumah/heave-offering according to the Rabbis is like [eating] Terumah of the Torah-law.

מריש – beam

בירה – a large house

מפני תקנת השבים – for it you require him [i.e., the thief] to take down (literally, “exterminate”) his home (or an entire group of buildings) and return the [stolen] beam itself (see Talmud Gittin 47a), he would be prevented from repenting.

שלא נודעה לרבים – that t was stolen

שהיא מכפרת – and there is no need to bring another.

מפני תקון מזבח – so that the Kohanim will not be sad that they unconsecrated meat that was slaughtered in the Temple courtyard, and it would lead to the altar being void, that they were prevented from performing the Temple ritual.

לא היה סקריקון – a murdering heathen, that is do say, that they did not adjudicate the law concerning the purchase of confiscated property (see Talmud Gittin 55b) to say that whomever purchases Jewish land from a murdering heathen, will be liable to adjudicate with the owners.

משעת הרוגי מלחמה – At the time when the decree was difficult for the Jews [that they would be] killed during warfare, for a person who buys from him at that time, his purchase is valid, and there was no need to adjudicate with an Israelite who owns the land, since as a result of unavoidable compulsion where an Israelite would complete a sale to the heathen murderers, and we hold (Talmud Bava Batra 47b): “If a person consents to sell something through fear of physical violence (literally, “if they hang him and he sells”), the sale is valid.

אבל מהרוגי המלחמה ואילך – when there was no decree to be killed, they adjudicated the law concerning the purchase of confiscated propery, to say that when he purchases it from him, they should do a judgment with the owners as it is explained in the Mishnah.

מקחו בטל – for as we say that he did it out of fear.

לקח מן האיש – land that is designated for his wife’s Ketubah.

מקחו בטל – for she said that I did it only to gratify my husband (but did not mean to sell – see Talmud Ketubot 95a).

נותן לבעלים רביע – that they estimated, for the heathen murderers which it had come into his hand without paying for it, he bought [the confiscated field] for one-fourth less than its real value.

רומז ונרמז – what her [i.e., the deaf-mute] gesticulates or that others gesticulate to him and is satisfied by it, everything exists. Gesticulation is with one’s hands or with one’s head. Mimic intimation [is accomplished] by the curving of the lips, as it says (Job 5:16): “[So there is hope for the wretched;] the mouth of wrongdoing is stopped.” But mimic intimation is not recognized as is gesticulation.

במטלטלין – if he sold movables, and the Halakha is not according to Ben Beteira.

הפעוטות – minors at the age of seven or eight, if he is sharp/bright and knows the nature of business relationships, or if he the age of nine or ten and is not so sharp.

מקחן מקח וממכרן ממכר במטלטלין – and their gifts are gifts, whether it is a gift of a healthy individual or the gift of someone on his death-bed, whether it is a large gift or a small gift.

כהן קורא ראשון – When they are equal in wisdom, but if the Israelite is greater in wisdom, he precedes the Kohen and the Levite (see Mishnah Horayot, Chapter 3, Mishnah 8) for a Sage who is illegitimate comes before a High Priest who is an ignoramus. The law is the law of the Gemara, but today it is the practice that the Kohen, even if he is an ignoramus, comes before a great Sage who is an Israelite.

מפני דרכי שלום – that from the Torah, a Kohen can give permission to whomever he wishes that would read from the Torah before him, but for the sake of the social order, they said that he [i.e., the Kohen] should read first and not give permission to another to read [before him], so that it doesn’t come to wrangling. But if there is no Kohen there, the cord has been severed and a Levite should not read second, other than according to his importance. And there are those who say that the Levite should not [in this case where there is no Kohen] read (i.e., called up to) the Torah at all and this is the custom.

מערבין בבית ישן – members of a courtyard who are accustomed to place their Eruv (contribute their share towards a dish which is deposited in one of the dwellings, by which act all the dwellings are considered as common to all – whereby the carrying of objects on Shabbat from one to another and across the court are permitted) in one [particular] house, should not change their place to place it in another house.

מפני דרכי שלום – that people who are accustomed to see the Eruv in the same house, [and] now that they don’t see it, will say that they are carrying [on the Sabbath] without an Eruv, and there is suspicion.

בור שהוא קרוב – to one who finds a canal that comes from the river.

מתמלא ראשון – and afterwards the lower ones are filled.

מצודות חיה – that lack a receptacle where he acquires his utensils (?)

יש בהן משום גזל מפני דרכי שלום – and is not removed by the judges

רבי יוסי אומר: גזל גמור – According to the Rabbis and is removed by judges. However, Rabbi Yosi admits that it is not theft according to the Torah, to transgress with a negative commandment. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yosi.

המנקף – cut off/sever, like Isaiah 10:34: “The thickets of the forest shall be hacked away with iron…”

החשודה על השביעית – to guard/preserve the seventh year fruit and hide them from removal [of the fruit] (in the third and sixth years of the Sabbath period) and beyond.

לא תבור ולא תטחון עמה – to assist her, since it is forbidden to help with his hands those who sin while they are sinning.

לאשת עם הארץ – who is suspect regarding tithing

ובוררת וטוחנת – since most ignoramuses do tithe

אבל משתטיל המים – in the dough

לא תגע עמה – since when she rolls it, it becomes liable for setting aside Hallah (i.e., the piece of dough taken off, thrown into the oven and burned), and she becomes defiled through impure utensils , which had become susceptible to receive impurity; and she who helps her to roll [the dough] is forbidden to cause the Hallah to become impure.

וכולן לא אמרו כו' – they did not permit them to lend utensils and assist them outside of the time of the sin itself, other than because of the ways of peace.

ומחזיקין ידי גוים – to tell them that they should strengthen their hands

ושואלים בשלומם – all the days, even on the days of their holidays, and even though he places the name of heaven on the heathen [but nevertheless] peace is one of the names of the Holy One, blessed be He.