When he died: Acher.

They said, in heaven, "He should not be judged, etc."

There was one among us: There was one student among us who stumbled and went out to an evil path. And do we not have the power among all of us to bring him to the world to come?

If we hold him by the hand, who will marmei (extract) him: If I hold on to his hand to bring him to the world to come, who will take him from my hand? Marmei is an expression of taking from my hand. And there is an example of it in Pesachim (10b), "Armuyei aramayei from him," regarding the loaf in the mouth of the mouse.

Man: It is like mani (who). It is an abbreviated form.

The guard at the entrance of Geihinnom "could not stand before you, our rabbi," when you came to remove Acher from there.

It does not state, "to their knowledge": Hence we are dealing with the wicked, and [yet] it says, "Incline your ear."

Incline your ear to listen. But forget their deeds, and do not study them.

An adult - who knows to be careful not to learn his deeds - may learn Torah from his mouth.

Tachla: The outer fruit of the date, which is eaten.

Shichla: Its pit, which is thrown out.

[Now He is saying]: Now He listened to your voice; and He said a teaching from his mouth.

Woe is Me from My head: Rabbi Meir said it in Tractate Sanhedrin (46a) in expounding, "for an insult (kilelat) to God is a hanging-person" (Deuteronomy 21:23): Kal leit - I am not light. And it is a euphemism. He ascribed the thing to the Above. "Woe is Me from My arm" - I am heavy from My arm, since I created this one that died in his iniquity.

Telei beivra dedasha: Leaning on the bolt.

About our rabbis: About the students who went out to an evil path.

They would weigh [a matter] to expound a minor case from a major case, and a major case from a minor case, according to the weights of the minor and major cases.

Involving a wooden closet (migdal) floating (poreach) in the air: Some explain that they would expound the height of the [letter,] lamed, and they expounded all of this from it. And some explain it is the tower of the generation of the dispersion (Migdal Babel). But to me, it appears the we teach [the version], a closet open (patuach) to the air; and these are from the laws of 'tents' - a wooden closet, that is called a mestier, and stands at the entrance with its opening open to the valley or to the courtyard, which is air. In Tractate Oholot (4:1) there is a mishnah, "A closet that stands in the air."

Four commoners: Bilaam, Doeg, Achitophel and Gechazi. It is in the chapter [entitled] Chelek (Sanhedrin 90a).

There was 'mud' in their hearts: They were evil from their [early] days.

Acher, what was it: Why did he come to this, and why did his Torah [study] not protect him?

Greek tunes never ceased from his mouth: And he should have desisted on account of the destruction of the Temple - as it is written (Isaiah 24:9), "They drink their wine without song."

Would fall from his lap before he let himself go out to an evil path. Hence he had 'mud' in his heart [from before].

[Does] all wool that enters the cauldron emerge intact: Does the coloring of all wool, that is put into the cauldron of herbs to color, work or does it not work? This means to say, does the Torah [study] of all those study in front of the sages work to protect them from sin?

All that was clean when it was with its mother: Its coloring works when it did not become dirty in the shearing. That is to say, it works for anyone whose fear of sin precedes his wisdom. So does it appear to me. However my rabbis explain, "[Does] all wool that enters the cauldron emerge intact," as, does everyone that descends to be judged in Geihinnom emerge? "According to its mother" - the coloring works on one-day old wool that has not been trampled in mud. That is to say - if one has merits with him, he emerges.