And these are the ones who are put to death by strangulation: one who strikes his father or mother, one who steals a soul of Israel (i.e., a kidnapper), an elder who rebels against beth-din [i.e., who defies the ruling of the great beth-din in "the chamber of hewn stone" (in Jerusalem), a false prophet, one who prophesies in the name of idolatry, one who lives with a married woman, and the zomemin of the daughter of a Cohein and her consort. [Even though they come to make her liable to burning, they are sentenced only to the death penalty they intended for the one who lived with her, i.e., strangulation, the regular penalty for adulterers, it being written (Leviticus 21:9): "In fire shall she be burned" — she, and not her consort. And (the halachah for) her zomemin is derived from (Deuteronomy 19:19): "as he schemed to do to his brother" — and not to his sister. [("and her consort":) the consort of the married daughter of a Cohein; but if she were betrothed, she and her consort are executed by stoning.] If one strikes his father or mother he is not liable unless he makes a wound. This is a stringency of cursing (one's parents) over striking: If one curses them after (their) death, he is liable, [it being written (Leviticus 20:9): "His father and his mother has he cursed" — a superfluous verse to include (liability for cursing them) after (their) death]; and if he strikes them after their death, he is not liable, [for he is not liable unless he makes a wound, and there is no "wound" after death.] If one steals (i.e., kidnaps) a soul of Israel, he is not liable until he brings him into his domain, [it being written (Exodus 21:16): "…and he be found in his hand," his "hand" being his domain. Similarly (Numbers 21:26): "And he took his whole land from his hand."] . Yehudah says: Until he brings him into his domain and makes use of him, it being written (Deuteronomy 24:7): "and he makes use of him and sells him." ["use" worth a perutah. And the first tanna rules him liable for "use" of even less than a perutah. The halachah is in accordance with the first tanna.] If one steals his son, R. Yishmael b. R. Yochanan b. B'roka rules him liable. The sages rule him not liable. [The rationale of the rabbis: It is written (Exodus 21:16): "and he be found in his hand" — a superfluous verse, for it is written (Deuteronomy 24:7): "If there be found a man, etc." — to teach us: to exclude one who is already "found" (i.e., his son)]. If one steals a man who is half bondsman - half free, R. Yehudah rules him liable, and the sages, not liable. [("R. Yehudah rules him liable":) it being written (Deuteronomy 24:7): "of his brothers of the children of Israel": "of his brothers" — to exclude bondsmen; "of the children of Israel": If it were written "the children of Israel," we would exclude one who was half bondsman - half free. Now that it is written: "of the children of Israel," this is an additional exclusion; "and there is no exclusion after exclusion except for inclusion." And the rabbis hold that "of his brothers" does not exclude bondsmen, for they are his "brothers" in mitzvoth. Rather, "the children of Israel" — to exclude bondsmen; "of the children of Israel" — to exclude one who is half bondsman - half free. The halachah is in accordance with the sages.]

An elder who rebels against beth-din (is put to death by strangulation), viz. (Deuteronomy 17:8): "If there be hidden from you a thing of judgment, etc." There were three batei-din there [in Jerusalem, concerning which it is written (Ibid.): "Then you shall arise and go up."], one at the entrance to the Temple mount, [the eastern gate, inside the Chel (a place within the fortification of the Temple), before the ezrath nashim (the women's compartment)], one at the entrance of the azarah (the Temple court) [above it, as they crossed the ezrath nashim and came to the entrance of the ezrath Yisrael], and one in the chamber of hewn stone, [built in the midst of the azarah, part in sanctified ground, part in non-sanctified.] They come to the one at the entrance to the Temple mount, [(this elder who ruled in his city and with whom the beth-din in his city differed, Scripture requiring them to come up to Jerusalem.) He and the beth-din of his city come up to this beth-din at the entrance to the Temple mount, arriving there first.], and he says: "Thus did I expound. Thus and thus did my colleagues expound. Thus did I teach. Thus and thus did my colleagues teach." If they (that beth-din) had heard it (the halachah in that matter), they tell them, and if not they come to those at the entrance of the azarah. He says: "Thus did I expound, and thus did my colleagues expound. Thus did I teach, and thus did my colleagues teach." If they had heard, they tell them. And if not, these and the others come to the great beth-din in the chamber of hewn stone, whence Torah goes out to all of Israel, viz. (Deuteronomy 17:10): "…from that place which the L rd chooses." If he returned to his city and he ruled again as he had ruled before, he is not liable. And if he ruled "to do," he is liable, it being written (Ibid. 12): "And the man who shall do willfully" — he is not liable until he rules to do. A disciple who rules to do is not liable. [A disciple who had not attained to (expertise in) ruling and the beth-din in his city differed with him — If they came to the great beth-din and inquired, and he returned to his city and ruled as at first, he is not liable, for they should not have relied upon his ruling. The Torah made liable only an expert of beth-din, as is derived from (Ibid. 8): "If there be hidden (ki yipalei) from you." Scripture speaks of an expert (muflah) of beth-din.] His severity, then, is found to be his lenity! [The severity of his transgression — ruling though he is not qualified to rule, compounded with his rebelling against beth-din — becomes his lenity, exempting him from the death penalty. For if he were an elder qualified to rule and he rebelled against beth-din, he would be put to death.]

A stringency of the words of the scribes over the words of the Torah: If one says that there are no tefillin, in transgression of the words of the Torah, he is not liable, [this not being "ruling." For he is told (as it were): "Go and learn!"] (But if one says that) there are five frontlets (totafoth), adding to the words of the scribes, he is liable, [this constituting a ruling. And even though this only adds to the words of the scribes, he is liable. For in the medrash of the scribes it is written: The word "letotafoth" is written three times (Exodus 13:16, Deuteronomy 6:8, and Deuteronomy 11:18), twice defective and once plene, giving a total of four sections (in the head phylactery)].

He (a rebellious elder) is executed neither by the beth-din of his city nor by the beth-din in Yavneh [If they inquired of the beth-din in the chamber of hewn stone, and they ruled for him, and he returned to his city and remained there many days, until the great Sanhedrin was exiled to Yavneh, and then he ruled as at first, he is not executed in Yavneh, even though the great Sanhedrin is there, and even if the Temple still stands, the great Sanhedrin not sitting in its place in the chamber of hewn stone.], but he is brought up to the great beth-din in Jerusalem and kept there until the festival, it being written (Deuteronomy 17:13): "And all the people shall hear and fear and not presume again." These are the words of R. Akiva. R. Yehudah says: His judgment is not delayed, but he is executed immediately, and it is written, and messengers are sent (to proclaim) in all places: "This man, the son of this man, was found liable to the death penalty by beth-din."

A false prophet — one who prophesies what he did not hear [i.e., what was not stated in prophecy to any prophet], and what was not said to him, [but to his colleague, from whom he heard it, and he came and said that it was said to him] — his death is at the hands of man. [Both of these are false prophets, and their death is by strangulation, it being written (Deuteronomy 18:20): "But the prophet who shall presume to speak a thing in My name" — this is one who prophesies what he never heard — "which I did not command him" — but which I commanded to his neighbor. This is one who prophesies what was not said to him but which was said to his neighbor — "that prophet shall be put to death"; and every death mentioned in the Torah, unqualified, is strangulation.] But if one suppresses his prophecy, or makes light of the words of a prophet, or transgresses his own prophecy, his death is at the hands of Heaven, it being written (Ibid. 19): "I shall require it of him." [It is written (Ibid. 19): "And it shall be, the man who shall not heed (lo yishma) My words." It can be read "lo yishma" (i.e., another) "will not heed," and "lo yashmia" "he will not make heard," and "lo yishmah," i.e., he himself "will not heed," so that all three are included, followed by "I shall require it of him" — at the hands of Heaven.]

One who prophesies in the name of idolatry, saying: "Thus did this idolatry say" (is put to death by strangulation), even if he (i.e., what he said) coincided with the halachah, to declare the unclean unclean, and the clean, clean. One who lives with a married woman, once she enters the groom's domain for marriage, [as when the father hands her over to the groom's messengers and she is still on the way to him, in which instance she is no longer regarded as being in "her father's house"], is put to death by strangulation. And the zomemin of the daughter of a Cohein and her consort (are put to death by strangulation). For all zomemin "come forward" for that death [that they would make the adjudged liable to], except the zomemin of the daughter of a Cohein and her consort [i.e., All who live (illicitly) with a woman are subject to the same death as she, except for the consort of the daughter of a Cohein, she being subject to burning, and he, to strangulation.]