People and utensils [both] become tamei from a corpse. People have a stringency that utensils do not have, and utensils have [a stringency] that people do not have. [When a] utensil [touches a corpse,] three [utensils will become tamei in turn after the first utensil touches a corpse], whereas [when] a person [becomes tamei by touching a corpse, only] two [will become tamei]. People have a stringency [that utensils do not have]: When a person is in the middle, there can be four [persons and utensils that become tamei in succession], but when there is no person in the middle, there can be only three [stages of con-tact].

People and clothing [both] become tamei from a zav. People have a stringency that clothing does not have, and clothing [has a stringency] that people do not have. A person who touches a zav renders clothing tamei, whereas clothing that touches a zav does not render [other] clothing tamei. Clothing has a stringency [that people do not have]: Clothing that ‘‘carries’’ a zav renders a person tamei, whereas a person who carries a zav does not render [another] person tamei.