or Gibeonite woman who was married to a Jew of unflawed lineage, or a Jewish woman of unflawed lineage who was married to a mamzer or a Gibeonite, all of these women neither drink the bitter water nor collect payment of their marriage contracts, as the sota ritual applies only to permitted marriages.

And the following women neither drink the bitter water nor collect payment of their marriage contracts: A woman who confesses and says: I am defiled, and a woman with regard to whom witnesses came and testified that she is defiled, and a woman who says: I will not drink the bitter water, even if she does not confess her guilt.

However, a woman whose husband said: I will not have her drink, and a woman whose husband engaged in sexual intercourse with her on the way to the Temple, collect payment of their marriage contracts even though they do not drink the bitter water, as it is due to the husbands that they do not drink.

If the husbands of sota women died before their wives drank the bitter water, Beit Shammai say: They collect payment of their marriage contracts and they do not drink the bitter water. And Beit Hillel say: They either drink the bitter water or they do not collect payment of their marriage contracts.

A woman who was pregnant with the child of another man at the time of her marriage and a woman who was nursing the child of another man at the time of her marriage neither drink the bitter water nor collect payment of their marriage contracts. This is because by rabbinic law they may not marry for twenty-four months after the baby’s birth, and therefore these also constitute prohibited marriages. This is the statement of Rabbi Meir. And the Rabbis say: He can separate from her, and remarry her after the time of twenty-four months has elapsed, and therefore these are considered permitted marriages, and the women can drink the bitter water.

A sexually underdeveloped woman who is incapable of bearing children [ailonit], and an elderly woman, and a woman who is incapable of giving birth for other reasons, neither collect payment of their marriage contracts nor drink the bitter water, as marrying a woman who cannot give birth constitutes a violation of the mitzva to be fruitful and multiply. Rabbi Elazar says: He can marry another woman and procreate through her; therefore, these are considered permitted marriages, and women in these categories can drink the bitter water.

And all other women either drink the bitter water or do not collect payment of their marriage contracts. The wife of a priest drinks, and if she is found to be innocent of adultery, she is permitted to her husband. The wife of a eunuch also drinks.

A husband can issue a warning to his wife forbidding her to seclude herself with any man, even with regard to all those men with whom relations are forbidden, e.g., her father or brother, with the exception of a minor and of one who is not a man, i.e., in a situation where a man suspects his wife of bestiality.

And these are the women to whom the court issues a warning in place of their husbands: One whose husband became a deaf-mute or became an imbecile, or was incarcerated in prison. The Sages said that the court warns her not in order to have her drink the bitter water if she disobeys the warning, but in order to disqualify her from receiving payment of her marriage contract. Rabbi Yosei says: The court’s warning also serves to have her drink, and when her husband is released from prison he has her drink.

GEMARA: The mishna states that a betrothed woman and a widow awaiting her yavam do not drink the bitter water. The Gemara infers: She does not drink, but the husband or yavam can warn her against secluding herself with another man, and if she violates his warning, she is forbidden to him. The Gemara asks: From where are these matters derived? The Gemara answers: This is derived as the Sages taught with regard to the verse: “Speak to the children of Israel and say unto them: If the wife of any man goes astray, and acts unfaithfully against him” (Numbers 5:12). The superfluous phrase “and say unto them” is an amplification, and serves to include a betrothed woman and a widow awaiting her yavam in the halakhot of warning.

And whose opinion is expressed in the mishna? It is the opinion of Rabbi Yonatan, as it is taught in a baraita with regard to the verse: “And the priest shall cause her to swear, and shall say to the woman: If no man has lain with you, and if you have not gone aside to defilement while under your husband” (Numbers 5:19). This excludes a betrothed woman, who does not yet live with her betrothed, from the ritual of the bitter water. One might have thought that I exclude even a widow awaiting her yavam; therefore, the verse states: “If the wife of any man goes astray” (Numbers 5:12). The term “any man” serves to include a widow awaiting her yavam in the ritual of the bitter water. This is the statement of Rabbi Yoshiya.

Rabbi Yonatan says: The phrase “while under your husband” excludes a widow awaiting her yavam from drinking the bitter water. Lest one would say that I will exclude a widow awaiting her yavam but I will not exclude a betrothed woman, the verse therefore states: “This is the law of jealousy, when a wife, while under her husband, goes astray, and is defiled” (Numbers 5:29). The term “while under her husband” excludes a betrothed woman from drinking the bitter water.

The Gemara explains the dispute: One Sage, Rabbi Yonatan, holds that the bond with the betrothed woman is stronger, as it is his own betrothal, whereas in the case of a widow awaiting her yavam, the bond stems from his brother’s betrothal. And furthermore, if the betrothed woman commits adultery, she is stoned due to her bond with him, whereas a widow awaiting her yavam who engages in sexual intercourse with another man is liable only to receive lashes. Since the bond with the betrothed woman is stronger, Rabbi Yonatan derives from the phrase “while under your husband” that a widow awaiting her yavam is excluded with respect to the bitter water, whereas a betrothed woman is excluded only because of the phrase “and say unto them.”

And one Sage, Rabbi Yoshiya, holds that the bond with the widow awaiting her yavam is stronger, as she is not lacking entry into the wedding canopy, as her marriage to the yavam is completed through sexual intercourse alone. Rabbi Yoshiya therefore excludes only a betrothed woman from drinking the bitter water.

The Gemara asks: And Rabbi Yonatan, who excludes both a betrothed woman and a widow awaiting her yavam from drinking the bitter water, what does he do with this term “any man”? What does it serve to include? The Gemara answers: Rabbi Yonatan requires it in order to include the wife of a deaf-mute and the wife of an imbecile, and the wife of