משקינא לה ונסתרה אפילו שמע מעף הפורח that she retired under suspicious circumstances–secluded herself,

יוציא ויתן כתובה – he should divorce her and provide her Ketubah settlement. Rabbi Eliezer, according to his reasoning who said in the first chapter (Tractate Sotah, Chapter 1, Mishnah 1), that a married woman’s retirement with a man under suspicious circumstances does not require testimony and even a slave and even a maid-servant are believed, that is (identical with) a flying bird for a married woman’s retirement with a man under suspicious circumstances is compared through close analogy of Biblical verses to ritual defilement and everyone is believed regarding her. Therefore, if she retired with a man under suspicious circumstances and he does not want to have to cause her to drink [the bitter waters], he should divorce her and provide her with her Ketubah settlement.

רבי יהושע אומר עד שישאו ויתנו בה מוזרות בלבנה – women who spin by the light of the moon. Rabbi Yehoshua, according to his reasoning, who said that we cause her to drink [by the testimony] of two [witnesses]. However, when they (i.e., the women twisting yarn) speak of her by [the light of] the moon, the matter is ugly licentiousness, and she should be divorced for even water, moreover, does not examine her as it is taught in the first chapter. But she is ritually pure, and women twisting yarn by moonlight should be talking about her. And the Halakha is according to Rabbi Yehoshua.

אני ראיתיה שנטמאת – in that retirement [of hers] under suspicious circumstances which is through two witnesses according to Rabbi Yehoshua or through the flying bird according to Rabbi Eliezer.

לא היתה שותה – for one witness is believed concerning her even to cause her to lose her Ketubah settlement for there is a basis for it.

אף לפסלה מכתובתה – that she should not drink [the bitter waters] not take [the settlement of] her Ketubah.

יבמתה – the wife of her husband’s brother.

ובת בעלה – from another wife.

הרי אלו נאמנות – for this testimony, even though they are ineligible for all other testimony which is to her detriment because the Torah believed all testimony that there is concerning her. But, however, not to make her ineligible for her Ketubah [settlement], for they hate her, but rather, that she should not be suspected by her husband of having been unfaithful.

שהיה בדין – that one witness should not be believed concerning her if it is not from the decree of the Biblical verse.

עדות הראשונה – her retirement under suspicious circumstances which does not make her forbidden [to her husband] eternally other than until she drinks [the bitter waters].

אינה מתקיימת בפחות משנים – since we require to state from an analogy–Gezerah Shavah, and this is Rabbi Yehoshua’s view.

עדות האחרונה – ritual impurity.

כל [עדות] שיש בה – it is believed concerning her, as it is written (Numbers 5:13): “and there is no witness against her,” and all mentions of the word "עד"–witness that is mentioned in the Torah, undefined, is not other than two, as it necessitated the Bible to state (Deuteronomy 19:15): “A single witness may not validate against a person [any guilt or blame for any offense that may be committed: a case can be valid only on the testimony of two witnesses or more].” We learn from this that "עד"–witness implies two [witnesses], until the Biblical verse explicitly specifies one [witness]. And as it states, that she was not caught to be forbidden, so we see that one witness is believed.

עד אומר נטמאת ועד אומר לא נטמאת – establish one near one, and there is doubt regarding her and she drinks, and especially when they come one in the presence of the other. But this one after that one, when the first stated that she was defiled, he is believed as two [witnesses]. But the second who states that was not defiled, is just considered as one, for the words of the one are not in place of two [witnesses].

ושנים אומרים לא נטמאת – meaning to say that she was not defiled in your presence, that when you came and found that they retired under suspicious circumstances together and we also were with you and in your presence she was not defiled, the one witness was dismissed and his words were voided because of the two [witnesses] and she remains in a state of “doubt” if she had been defiled before they came and found them [together] and therefore, she drinks [the bitter waters]. And we are taught by the Tanna–teacher in these two clauses of our Mishnah that they are ineligible for [providing] testimony, they went after the majority opinion whether for leniency or stringency, meaning to say, whether to cause her to drink or not to cause her to drink.