גזלן מפורסם (שעסקיו בכך ותשובתו קשה) הבא לעשות תשובה מעצמו אם אין הגזילה קיימת אין מקבלין ממנו כדי שלא ימנע מלעשות תשובה ואם רצה לצאת ידי שמים והחזיר אין מוחין ביד הנגזל מלקבלו: הגה וכן אם לא בא לעשות תשובה מעצמו רק שהנגזל צריך לתבעו מחייבים אותו להחזיר (טור ס"א):

A Robber Who Comes to Repent, Whether We Accept from Them; this has four sections: A well-known robber (who was thoroughly engaged in this and for whom repentance is difficult) who comes on their own to repent: if the robbed item still exists, one should not accept it, in order not to prevent them from repenting, but if [the robber] wanted to fulfill Heavenly standards and returned it, we do not prevent the person who was robbed from accepting it. Rema’s gloss: Similarly, if [the robber] did not come on their own to repent, but was sued by the person they robbed, then we do require them to return it.

For shepherds, tax collectors, and customs collectors, repentance is difficult, because they robbed the masses and do not know to whom to make restitution. Therefore, they should use it for public necessities, such as wells, ditches, and caves.