Translation:Mishnah/Seder Nezikin/Tractate Sanhedrin/Chapter 2/3

Introduction

Sanhedrin deals primarily with the court and with court cases. The second chapter of Sanhedrin is focused on laws concerning the High Priest and the King.

The third mishnah of this chapter continues with the rules for the King. They are very similarly structured as the rules for the High Priest, though often with the exact opposite rule. This mishnah can be read as a continuation of the second mishnah, and is in fact found as such in some manuscripts.

Hebrew Text

מת לו מת, אינו יוצא מפתח פלטרין שלו.

רבי יהודה אומר, אם רוצה לצאת אחר המטה, יוצא, שכן מצינו בדוד שיצא אחר מטתו של אבנר, שנאמר (שמואל ב ג,לא) והמלך דוד הלך אחרי המטה.

אמרו לו, לא היה הדבר אלא לפיס את העם .

וכשמברין אותו, כל העם מסבין על הארץ והוא מסב על הדרגש.

English Translation

(Someone close to him) dies, he cannot go out from the opening of his palace. Rabbi Yehuda says, if he wants to go out following the coffin, he can go out, because David went out following the coffin of Abner, as it is written (II Samuel 3:31), "And King David went out after the coffin." They [the sages] answered: no, that was only a thing of compromise. And when he is fed in comfort, the whole nation sits on the ground, and he sits on an ottoman.

Explanation

This is a continuation of the explanation of which parts of court proceedings apply to the king. In this part of the law, he is treated very similarly to the High Priest. He also cannot follow the coffin, and he is elevated above the people (on an ottoman as opposed to a bench) when fed in comfort. An explanation of important terms:
Fed in comfort - This presumably alludes to a meal after a loved one dies, prepared for him by the community.