Whether it be the hire of a man, the hire of a beast, or the hire of utensils, [the law:] “On his day you shall give his wages” (Deut. 24:15) applies, as well as [the law:] “The wage of a hired worker shall not stay over with you until morning” (Lev. 19:13). When? When he claimed it; [but if] he did not claim it, he does not transgress it. [If] he gave him a draft on a store-keeper or a money changer, he does not transgress it.  [If] a hired worker [claims his wage] when it is due, he may swear and take [it]; [if] his time has passed, he may not swear and take [it]. If there are witnesses that he demanded [it] of him, he may swear and take [it].  [As for] a resident alien —- [the law:] “On his day you shall give his wages” applies to him, but [the law:] “The wage of a hired worker shall not stay over with you until morning” does not apply to him.

One who lends his neighbor may not exact security from him except in court; nor may he enter his house to take his security, as it is said (Deut. 24:11): “You shall stand outside.” [If] he has two utensils, he may take one and leave one; and he must re-turn the pillow by night and the plowshare by day. If he dies, he need not return [it] to the heirs. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: Even to [the debtor] himself he need only return [it] up to thirty days. After thirty days, he sells them in court.  We may not exact security [from] a widow, whether she be poor or rich, as it is said (ibid: 17): “And you shall not take as se-curity the garment of a widow.”  One who takes a mill as security transgresses a negative commandment; and he is guilty of [taking] two utensils, as it is said (ibid: 6): “He shall not take a lower millstone or an upper millstone as security.” They did not speak only of the lower millstone and the upper millstone, but [of] anything with which food for human consumption is prepared, as it is said (ibid.): “for he takes away a life as security.”

[If] a ground floor and an upper story belonging to two [different people] collapsed, the two of them divide the wood, the stones, and the earth; and they determine which stones are likely to have been broken. If one of them recognized some of his stones, he takes them, and they are counted for him in the reckoning.

[If] a ground floor and an upper story belonged to two [people], [and] the upper story partially fell in, but the owner of the ground floor does not wish to make repairs, the occupant of the upper story may go and live downstairs, until he repairs the upper story for him. R’ Yose says: The downstairs one supplies the ceiling, and the upstairs one the plaster.