Witnesses do not become zomemin until they themselves are rendered zomemin, [i.e., in respect to what concerns them, and not what concerns the killer or the killed, as explained below. This is derived from (Deuteronomy 19:18): "And, behold, a false witness is the witness" — until the falsehood inheres in the persons of the witnesses themselves.] How so? If they said: We testify about this man that he killed another, and they are refuted — How can you say this when the (alleged) victim or murderer was with us that day in a different place? — they are not rendered zomemin. But if they said: How can you say this when you were with us that day in a different place? they are rendered zomemin, and they are killed by their (the refuters') testimony.
Bartenura on Mishnah Makkot
Until they themselves are zommemized. That you zommemize them regarding their own [testimony] matters, and not the matters regarding the murderer and the murdered one, as it will go to explain. We derive this from the verse as it is written (Deuteronomy 19:18) "And behold the witness is a false witness", [this teaches us that they are not zommemized] until you falsify their status as witnesses.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Makkot
Introduction
Mishnah four continues to discuss the laws of perjuring witnesses.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Makkot
Witnesses are not condemned as perjurers until they themselves are incriminated; How so? If they said: “We testify that so and so killed a person” and others said to them: “How could you testify to that, as that murdered person or that [alleged] murderer was with us on that very day, at such and such a place?” [then] the witnesses are not condemned as perjurers. But, if these [other] witnesses said: “How could you testify to that, as on that very day, you were with us at such and such a place?’ [then] the former are condemned as perjurers, and are executed by their [the other witnesses] word. This mishnah contains the Rabbinic definition of the type of perjuring witnesses referred to in the Torah. According to the Rabbis witnesses who are contradicted in their testimony are not always to receive the punishment that they tried to impose upon the accused. If other witnesses come and merely contradict the first witnesses’ testimony, while the testimony of the first witnesses may be invalidated, they do not receive the punishment that they tried to impose. After all, why should the court believe the testimony of the last witnesses more than it believes the testimony of the first witnesses? Rather, only if the second set of witnesses testify that the first set of witnesses could not have even seen that which they purport to have seen are the first witnesses punished as perjurers. This is what the mishnah means when it states that the witnesses themselves must be incriminated. In other words the form of perjury referred to in the Torah is only a case where the witnesses lie about their own whereabouts at the time of the crime. If they lie about the crime itself, while they may be punished with lashes for false testimony, they do not receive the punishment they attempted to impose.
