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Baba Metzia 3:1-2

Baba Metzia 3:1

If a person left an animal or some utensils in another person’s care and they were lost or stolen, so the guardian paid rather than take an oath – because an unpaid watchman can take an oath and be exempt – if the thief is found, he pays double and if he slaughtered or sold the animal, he pays four or five times. But who does he pay in this case (since the watchman already paid the owner)? He pays the guardian of the property. If the guardian took an oath rather than pay and the thief is found, he must pay double or, if he slaughtered or sold the animal, four or five times. In this case he pays the owner of the property.

Baba Metzia 3:2

If one person rented a cow from another and lent it to a third party, and the cow then died a natural death, the one who rented it must take an oath that it died naturally. The borrower must then repay the one who rented it. Rabbi Yosi asked how the one who rented it could do business with a cow belonging to someone else. Rather, the money for the cow must be given to its owner.

Author: Rabbi Jack Abramowitz