Study Bava Kamma folio 34A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
ואפילו הזיק עד שלא חב – בעל חוב קדים! שמע מינה, בעל חוב מאוחר שקדם וגבה – מה שגבה לא גבה?!
Moreover, even if the ox caused damage before he owed them, nevertheless the creditor came first and seized what he rightfully deserved. Should one conclude from the baraita that if a later creditor collected a debt before an earlier creditor, his collection is not valid and payment should instead be given to the earlier creditor?
לא, לעולם אימא לך: מה שגבה גבה; ושאני התם, דאמר ליה: אילו גבך הוה – לא מינך (הוה) גבי ליה? דהאי תורא דאזקן, מיניה משתלמנא.
The Talmud answers: No; actually, I could say to you that the collection of the later creditor is valid, and there, in the case where a creditor seized the belligerent ox, it is different, as the injured party can say to the creditor who seized the ox: If the ox was in your possession, would I not have collected it from you? The reason I would take it is that I am paid from this ox that caused me damage. Therefore, the creditor cannot collect the ox, even if the debt preceded the damage.
תנו רבנן: שור שוה מאתים שנגח שור שוה מאתים, וחבל בו בחמשים זוז, ושבח ועמד על ארבע מאות זוז – שאלמלא לא הזיקו היה עומד על שמנה מאות זוז; נותן כשעת הנזק.
§ A baraita states: With regard to an innocuous ox worth 200 dinars that gored another ox worth 200 dinars and injured it, reducing its value by 50 dinars [zuz], and the injured ox subsequently appreciated in value, and its value stood at 400 dinars, while if the belligerent ox had not injured it, its value would have now stood at 800 dinars, in this case the owner of the belligerent ox gives him only 25 dinars, which is half the value of the damage according to its value at the time the injury occurred.
כחש – כשעת העמדה בדין.
If the injured ox depreciated in value and its worth is now less than at the time it was injured, the damage is evaluated according to the ox’s worth at the time of standing trial. In other words, the owner of the belligerent ox must pay the difference between its value before it was injured and its current value.
Text data via Sefaria: William Davidson Edition - English and William Davidson Edition - Vocalized Aramaic, CC-BY-NC; edition provenance: Koren. Display terminology has been modernized for readability.