פירוש על מגילה 4:4

ולא יקרא למתורגמן יותר מפסוק אחד – so that the translator [into Greek or Chaldaic of the Biblical portion read at services] would not err when he translate by heart.

Introduction This mishnah teaches various rules about reading the Torah in public.

ובנביא שלשה – if he wishes, and we don’t care if he errs, and we don’t derive instruction from it.

One who reads the Torah [in public] may not read les than three verses. An aliyah may not consist of less than three verses.

ואם שלשתן שלש פרשיות – As for example (Isaiah 52:3-5): “For thus said the LORD: You were sold for no price, [and you shall be redeemed without money”]; “For thus said [the LORD] God; Of old, My people went down [to Egypt to sojourn there….”]; “What therefore do I gain here? – declares the LORD -….”]. These are three sections in three consecutive verses.

And he should not read to the translator more than one verse [at a time], but [if reading from the book of a] prophet [he may read to him] three at a time. If the three verses constitute three separate paragraphs, he must read them [to the translator] one by one. In mishnaic times the spoken language was Aramaic. Many people, perhaps most people, would have had trouble understanding the Torah in its original Hebrew. Therefore, as part of the public reading of the Torah, there was a translator who would translate verse by verse. The reader was to read one verse and then the translator would translate this verse. However, when it came to reading the haftarah from one of the prophets, they allowed the reader to read three verses at a time. They were less exacting on the precision of the haftarah translation than they were for the translation of the Torah. However, if each verse is its own section, then the reader must read each one on its own. This refers to Isaiah 52:3-5 where there are three verses, each considered to be its own section.

מדלגין בנביא – from portion to portion and even from subject matter to subject matter.

They may skip [from place to place] in a prophet but not in the Torah. How far may he skip [in the prophet]? [Only] so far that the translator will not have stopped [before he finds his place]. When reading the haftarah, he may skip from place to place so long as he doesn’t have to roll the scroll so far that they translator has completed his translation before he gets to the new verse. Today there are many haftarot where we skip from one place in the book to another, or if reading from one of the twelve minor prophets, from one prophet to another. However, when it comes to the Torah it is forbidden to skip around.

ואין מדלגין בתורה – in two subject matters, but in one subject matter, one may skip, such as the High Priest who would read on Yom Kippur the portion of Aharei Mot (Leviticus, chapter 16), and he would skip and read (Leviticus 23:26): “Mark the tenth day [of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement…]”

עד שלא יפסיק התורגמן – One who skips whether in the Torah in one subject matter or in the Prophets in two subject matters, he should delay other than in order that the translator can complete translating what he wants to translate, for there is no respect for the congregation [for him] to stand there in silence.