His statement, “Two upright men who testify to his probity”: This means that they must be two men. Thus, for attesting to probity, the testimony of one man and two women, or of four women, for example, is not accepted. They must also be upright, for the attestation of probity or commendation of two immoral persons is not accepted, since they themselves require attestation of probity.

His statement, “In translation, attestation of probity, impugning witnesses, identification, and conveying a message, only the statement of two upright men is accepted”: These are five matters—translation, attestation of probity, impugning witnesses, identification, and conveying a message—in which only the statement of two upright men is accepted.

Translation is the conveying of the meaning of speech from one language into another, and it is subject to three conditions:

First: the translator must know both languages, such that he knows the meaning in the language from which the speech is translated and in the language into which it is translated.

Second: he must know the subject matter, for knowledge of the subject is important in translation. One who does not know the subject matter may translate a word in a manner other than what is intended. This is distinct from merely knowing its meaning.

Third: he must be trustworthy. Trustworthiness is understood from the author’s statement, “two upright men”; if he is not trustworthy, his translation is not accepted.

Thus, if two men bring a dispute before a judge, one of whom speaks a language known to the judge while the other speaks a language unknown to him, the judge will need a translator. Is one translator sufficient? The author says: Two translators are necessary, because translation is testimony: the translator testifies that this speaker intended such-and-such, and testimony requires two upright men.