[The declarations:] “Korban, I shall not eat of yours,” “Korban, [if] I shall eat of yours,” [and] “Not a korban, [what] I shall not eat of yours” —- [are] not binding.  “Shevuah, I shall not eat of yours,” “Shevuah [if] I shall eat of yours,” [and] “No shevuah, [for what] I do not eat” —- [are] binding. This is [an instance in which] oaths are more stringent than nedarim.  What is an instance in which nedarim are more stringent than oaths? [If] he said: “Konam, [the] succah that I am constructing,” “[the] lulav that I am taking,” “[the tefillin that I am wearing” —- as nedarim, [these declarations] are binding; as oaths, they are not binding, for one may not swear to transgress the commandments.

There is a neder within a neder, but there is not an oath within an oath. How? If he said: “I am a Nazirite if I eat, I am a Nazirite if I eat,” and he eats —- he is bound by each [declaration]. “Shevuah, that I shall not eat, shevuah, that I shall not eat,” and he ate —- he is liable only for one.

Indeterminate nedarim [are treated] stringently, and their interpretation, leniently. How? He said: “[It is] to me like salted meat” [or] “wine libations” —- if [he vowed] of heaven, it is binding; if [he vowed] of idols, it is not binding; if it is indeterminate, it is binding. “It is to me like cherem” —- if [he meant] a cherem to the Temple, it is binding; but if [he meant] a cherem of Kohanim, it is not binding; if it is indeterminate, it is binding.  [If one said:] “It is to me like a tithe” —- if he vowed like the animal tithe, it is binding; if [he vowed] of the granary, it is not binding; if it is indeterminate, it is binding. “It is to me like terumah” —- if he vowed concerning the withdrawal from the chamber, it is binding; if [he vowed] concerning the granary, it is not binding; if it is indeterminate, [the neder] is binding; [these are] the words of R' Meir. R' Yehudah says: Indeterminate terumah —- in Judea, it is forbidden; in Galilee, it is permitted, because people in Galilee are not familiar with the withdrawals from the chamber.  Indeterminate charamim —- in Judea, [they] are permissible; but in Galilee, [they] are binding, because the people of Galilee are not familiar with charamim of Kohanim.

[If] one vowed referring to cherem, and said: “I vowed with reference to a fisherman's net”; [or he vowed] referring to korban, and said: “I vowed with reference to gifts for kings”; [or if he declared:] “My self is [to you like a] korban,” and he said: “I vowed with reference to a bone that I have set aside for myself to use for nedarim;” [or] “Konam, [that which] my wife benefits from me,” and he said: “My declaration was directed at my first wife, whom I divorced” —- for all of these, they need not request cancellation, and if they requested cancellation, we penalize them, and we are strict with them; [these are] the words of R' Meir.  The Sages, however, say: We find grounds to annul the neder from elsewhere, and we teach them, so that they not conduct themselves with levity [when dealing] with nedarim.

The Sages permitted four nedarim: bargaining nedarim, hyperbolic nedarim, unwitting nedarim, and nedarim on conditions unavoidably unfulfilled.  What are bargaining nedarim? One was selling an item, and said: “Konam, if I sell to you for less than a sela,” and the other says: “Konam, if I pay you more than a shekel” —- both [persons] are willing at three dinars. R' Eliezer ben Yaakov says: So, too, one who wants to direct a neder at another so that the other person should eat with him.  He says: “Any neder that I will make in the future is void.” [This is effective] provided that he remembers at the time of the neder.

[What are] hyperbolic nedarim? [A person] said: “Konam, unless I have seen on this road like those departing from Egypt,” [or] “unless I have seen a snake like a beam of the olive press.”  [What are] unwitting nedarim? [A person said:] “If I ate,” or “If I drank,” and he remembers that he ate or drank; “If I eat,” or “If I drink,” and he forgot, and ate or drank; [or a person said:] “Konam my wife benefiting from me, because she stole my purse,” or “she beat my son,” and it was discovered that she had not beaten him, and it was discovered that she had not robbed him.  A person saw people eating figs, and he said: “[They are] korban to you,” and it turned out to be his father and his brothers, and there were others with them —- Beis Shammai say: They are permitted, but those with them are forbidden; Beis Hillel, however, say: Both are permitted.

[What are] nedarim with conditions unavoidably unfulfilled? His friend vowed in order that he eat with him, but he took ill, or his son took ill, or he was held back by a river —- these are nedarim with conditions unavoidably unfulfilled.

One may make a neder for murderers, robbers, or illegal tax collectors that it is terumah, even though it is not terumah; that they belong to the royal house, even though they do not belong to the royal house.  Beis Shammai say: One may make any neder, but not an oath; Beis Hillel, however, say: Even an oath. Beis Shammai say: He should not volunteer to make a neder; Beis Hillel, however, say: He may even volunteer. Beis Shammai say: Only what he is forced to vow; Beis Hillel, however, say: Even what he is not forced to vow. How [is this]? They told him: “Say: `Konam, my wife benefiting from me,' ” and he said: “Konam my wife and my children benefiting from me” —- Beis Shammai say: His wife is permitted, but his children are forbidden. Beis Hillel, however, say: Both are permitted.

[If a person said:] “Let these saplings be an offering if they are not felled,” “[Let] this cloak be an offering if it is not burnt” —- they can be redeemed; “These saplings are an offering until they are felled,” “This cloak is an offering until it is burnt” —- they cannot be redeemed.

One who makes a neder prohibiting “seafarers” is permitted to [benefit from] land dwellers; [if] “land dwellers” —- he is forbidden to [benefit from] seafarers, because seafarers are included in “land dwellers” —- not like those who go from Acre to Jaffa, but from someone whose custom is to voyage.

One who makes a neder prohibiting “those who see the sun” is forbidden [to benefit] even from the blind, for he referred only to those visible to the sun.

One who makes a neder prohibiting “dark-headed people” is forbidden [to benefit] from bald people and hoary-haired people, but he is permitted to [benefit from] women and children, since only [adult] men are called “dark headed.”

One who makes a neder prohibiting “the yillodim” is permitted to [benefit from] those to be born; [if] “the noladim” —- he is for-bidden to [benefit from] those already born. R' Meir permits [benefit] even from those already born; the Sages, however, say: This [person] referred only to that which bears offspring.