שלשה עשר שופרות – [thirteen] chests, narrow from the top and wide from the bottom curved like a Shofar because of the deceivers who would not be able to put in their hands into them to show themselves as if they are giving/putting into it, while they are taking from it, and further on, it will explain why there are thirteen chests and thirteen tables and in which location they are placed (see also Mishnah 5 in this chapter).

שלש עשרה השתחויות – and further on (Mishnah 3) it will explain where they were.

כנגד דיר העצים – a chamber/compartment (see also Tractate Middot, Chapter 5, Mishnah 4) where they would store there all the wood of the pile of wood on the altar of the Temple and it was in the northeast corner of the Women’s Court.

ששם הארון נגנז – for King Josiah commanded that it be hidden below in the curved secret and tortuous path that Solomon built at the time when he built the Temple and knew that it would eventually be destroyed. And this is what is written in II Chronicles, chapter 35, verse 3: “He said to the Levites, consecrated to the LORD, who taught all Israel, ‘Put the Holy Ark in the House that Solomon [the son of David, king of Israel] built” (also compare Talmud Yoma 53b) and with it was hidden the staff of Aaron and the bottle of Manna (which was preserved) and the flask of anointing oil.

שהיה מתעסק – in his service (see also Tractate Middot, Chapter 2, Mishnah 5) removing the wormy parts from the wood/sorting it, and he had a blemish (i.e., he was unfit for the altar, for priestly service), and the work of those with a blemish was to prepare the wood for the altar, and any wood in which was found worms was unfit/disqualified for the altar.

שהוא משונה – the stone was not even with the other stones of the floor, and he understood it (i.e., the Holy Ark) was taken from there and then returned.

ביחוד – with certainty.

והיכן היו ההשתחויות – thirteen prostrations, as is taught in the Mishnah above (Mishnah 1 of this chapter), where they made them.

שער עליון – the Temple was slanted going up from east to west, and the gate nearest to the west was the Upper Gate. And behind it was the Fuel Gate, which was the gate of the wood chamber, which was in the south of the [Temple] courtyard and it was called that name because they would bring in through there the wood of the altar that they would burn on the altar which is called the Fuel Gate.

שער הבכורות – they would bring in there the first-born [cattle] that would be slaughtered there in the south.

מים מפכים – as it is written in Ezekiel (47:2): “And I found water was gushing from [under] the south wall,” and that is south which is called “right-hand,” as it is written )Psalms 89:13): “North and south – [You created them; Tabor and Hermon sing forth Your name].” But see Ezekiel in prophecy that they would go out from the House of the Holy of Holies thin like the proboscides of locusts (see Tractate Pesahim, Chapter 3, Mishnah 5), and when they would arrive at this gate, they would grow strong/gather courage and become like the fulness of a small flask/jar and that is why they call them “gushing waters.”

שער הקרבן – there they would bring in the Holy of Holies whose slaughter was in the north.

שער הנשים – for in it, the women would enter to lay their hands on their sacrifice, according to the words of Rabbi Yosi who said that women lay their hands optionally, but according to Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Shimon, to stand near their sacrifice (see Talmud Eruvin 96b, Rosh Hashanah 13a and Hullin 85a).

שער השיר – through that path they would bring in the musical instruments.

שבו יצא יכניה בגלותו – when he went to the Temple to prostrate and to get permission when he went to Babylonia in the Diaspora, and he left through the path at that gate.

שער ניקנור – it is explained in Yoma 38a in the chapter: “The officer said to them”/אמר להם שממונה (i.e., the Prefect over the Priests).

פשפשין – small gates within the larger gates and even they are from the count/number of thirteen gates, and even though the gate leading to the room (in the Temple) in which the fire is perpetually maintained (see Tractate Tamid, Chapter 1, Mishnah 1 and Tractate Middot, Chapter 1, Mishnah 1, as well as Tractate Shabbat Chapter 1, Mishnah 11), also had a wicket, it was not considered because it was the smallest of them all, but the others were all slightly larger, and these of our Mishnah, of the thirteen gates, we establish in the Gemara in the Jerusalem Talmud like Abba Shaul the son of Hanan, but the Sages state that there were seven gates in the courtyard, but they hold that these thirteen prostrations correspond to the thirteen breaches made by the Grecian kings in the courtyard (see Tractate Middot, Chapter 2, Mishnah 3), and when the Hasmonean kings rose up and defeated them and repaired the breaches, they established thirteen sites of prostration corresponding to every breach that had been repaired.

אך של שיש מניחי את האברים – after the dissection, they arrange them (i.e., the parts of the offering – the limbs) on the table until the Kohanim would bring them up, but they did not make them (i.e., the tables) of silver or gold for there is no poverty in the place of wealth, since the gold and the silver cause them (i.e., the parts of the offerings) to get hot and smell badly, whereas the marble cools them off and preserves them so that they do not smell badly, but they would not rely on a miracle that the holy meat never smelled badly (see Tractate Avot, Chapter 5, Mishnah 5, - "ולא הסריח\התליע בשר הקדש מעולם" ).

ועל של כסף כלי שרת – that they would remove each morning ninety-three service vessels, as is taught in the Mishnah [of Tractate] Tamid (Chapter 3, Mishnah 4).

נותנים לחם הפנים בכניסתו – after it was baked until they would set it up on the table.

ועל של זהב ביציאתו – and it would be placed there until the time of its division [among the priests].

שמעלין בקודש ולא מורידין – for since they removed it from on top of the golden table, and they don’t lower it to place it on one of silver.

תקלין תדתין – as it explains in on Mishnah, upon which they place the Shekaliim of this year. And when the time of Terumah offering arrives, the treasure takes out all the Shekalim that are in the horn-shaped [chest] and places them in the compartment/chamber in order that they may give Terumah from them. And the second [horn-shaped chest] has written on it “Old Shekel-dues” and whomever had not brought his Shekel in that year brings in the year after that and places it in the same horn-shaped chest, and the treasurer takes them and puts them in the remnants of the compartment/chamber. And on the third [chest] is written on it “Bird Offerings,” and they are large turtle doves. And on the fourth is written “Young Birds for Burnt Offerings,” which are small pigeons and all of them are for Burnt Offerings. But those who bring obligatory bird-offerings give the money or the birds into the hand of the Kohen, and they do not place the money in the horn-shaped chest. But the reason is explained in the Jerusalem Talmud – because of the mixing up of [the monies] lest one of the owners of the bird-offerings dies, for it is found that the waters of the sin-offering whose owners died that depart life are mixed up with them. But the Rabbis do not concern themselves with this, for they hold that in the horn-shaped [chest] for bird offerings, they place the monies of obligatory bird-offerings and with all of the monies found in it, they offer one bird sin-offering and another as a burnt offering, and the second, all of which are free-will donations and are sacrificed as burnt-offering, and the Halakha is according to the Sages.

עצים – A person who donates wood for the pile of wood on the altar in the Temple puts their monetary value into it.

לבונה – A person who donates frankincense puts monies into it and the treasurers take the monies that are in the shofar-shaped chest and purchase from them frankincense and they offer the incense on the altar.

זהב – The person who donates gold places it there, or its financial equivalent and this is for the innermost of the Temple (i.e., the Holy of Holies), that is to say, the service vessels, for the bowls out of which the sprinkling is done were called golden atonement in Ezra (1:10) and [First] Chronicles (28:17) since the Kohen would cleanse his finger with them between each sprinkling and between gifts of sin-offerings, and the left-overs that are on the finger are invalid.

ששה לנדבה – the remaining six shofar-shaped [chests] are for free-will offerings. On the first, it is written on it "מותר חטאת" – the surplus monies for sin-offerings; and the second is "מותר אשם" – the surplus money for guilt offerings. The third is מותר קיני זבים וזבות ויולדות" - the surplus money for bird-offerings of men and women who had suffered a discharge and of women after childbirth. And the fourth is "מותר קרבנות נזיר" – surplus money from the offerings of a Nazirite. The fifth is מותר אשם מצורע – surplus money from guilt offering of a leper. The sixth is "נדבה סתם" – freewill offering – voluntary contributions for offerings on the Altar. But the person who separated monies for a sin offering and purchased his sin-offering and there was surplus from the monies, he casts the surplus into the shofar-shaped [chest] that the words: “surplus monies for sin-offerings” are written upon it and similarly, surplus monies from guilt-offerings he throws into the shofar-shaped [chest] on which it is written “surplus monies for guilt-offerings,” and similarly for all of them. But the shofar-shaped chest that has “freewill offerings” written up on it, anyone who wants to donate something to the altar plces it into that one.

לא יפחות מב' גזרים – a person who donates an unspecified [amount of] wood should not donate less than two logs, like those that are arranged on the pile of wood on the altar in the Temple and their measurement is known. And especially, a person who donates an unspecified [amount of] wood, but a person who desires to bring even one piece of wood should bring it.

לא יפחות מן קומץ – for this is the measure of frankincense that comes with the meal-offering as it is written (Leviticus 6:8): “A handful of the choice flour and oil of the meal offering shall be taken from it, with all the frankincense that is on the meal offering, [and this token portion shall be turned into smoke on the altar as a pleasing odor to the LORD].” Just as the lifting of the meal-offering is with a handful, so also the frankincense is with a handful, but if he wants to bring even a particle/drop of frankincense, he can bring it. But a person who donates gold unspecified, should not [bring] less than a Dinar of gold, but this is when he mentioned the shape/form of the coin. But, if he did not mention a coin, but just gold, unspecified, he brings even a hook/curved pin which is a kind of small fork.

אשם הוא אשום אשם לה' – but this Biblical verse (Leviticus 5:19) is difficult from its beginning to its end. The words "אשם הוא"/”it is a guilt offering implies that his existence and his going, that which is eaten is for the Kohanim and the guilt-offering is for God, implying that it is all for God. But Jehoiada the [High] Priest expounded: "אשום אשם לה'" /”he has incurred guilt before the LORD”: Everything that comes on account of a sin and on account of guilt, for example, he separated monies for a sin-offering and a guilt-offering and there was a surplus from them, he should take that surplus as burnt-offerings. “The meat is for God, and the hides go to the Kohanim and it is found that these two Biblical verses are established. He has incurred guilt before God and a guilt offering to the priests. Where do we find this Midrash concerning Jehoiada, as it is written in II Kings (12:17) regarding Jehoiada? “Money brought as a guilt offering or as a sin offering was not deposited in the House of the LORD; it went to the priests.” But it is impossible to state that the money that was sanctified for the sake of a sin-offering and for the sake of a guilt-offering that the Priests should benefit from it, but by force, this is how it should be understood: They should make of it something from it that the Kohanim will benefit from – that is burnt offerings, for the hides go to the Kohanim.