< Genesis 23 >
1 And Sarah was a hundred and twenty-seven years old: [these were] the years of the life of Sarah.
And Sara lived a hundred and twenty-seven years.
2 And Sarah died in Kirjath-arba; the same [is] Hebron in the land of Canaan: And Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.
And she died in the city of Arbee which is Hebron, in the land of Chanaan: and Abraham came to mourn and weep for her.
3 And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying,
And after he rose up from the funeral obsequies, he spoke to the children of Heth, saying:
4 I [am] a stranger and a sojourner with you; give me a possession of a burying-place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.
I am a stranger and sojourner among you: give me the right of a burying place with you, that I may bury my dead.
5 And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him,
The children of Heth answered, saying:
6 Hear us, my lord; thou [art] a mighty prince among us: in the choice of our sepulchers bury thy dead: none of us will withhold from thee his sepulcher, but that thou mayest bury thy dead.
My Lord, hear us, thou art a prince of God among us: bury thy dead in our principal sepulchres: and no man shall have power to hinder thee from burying thy dead in his sepulchre.
7 And Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, to the children of Heth.
Abraham rose up, and bowed down to the people of the land, to wit the children of Heth:
8 And he communed with them, saying, If it is your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and entreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar,
And said to them: If it please your soul that I should bury my dead, hear me, and intercede for me to Ephron the son of Seor.
9 That he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which [is] in the end of his field; for as much money as it is worth he shall give it me, for a possession of a burying-place among you.
That he may give me the double cave, which he hath in the end of his field: for as much money as it is worth he shall give it me before you, for a possession of a burying place.
10 And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth. And Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, of all that entered the gates of his city, saying,
Now Ephron dwelt in the midst of the children of Heth. And Ephron made answer to Abraham in the hearing of all that went in at the gate of the city, saying:
11 Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I to thee, and the cave that [is] in it, I give it to thee; in the presence of the sons of my people I give it to thee: bury thy dead.
Let it not be so, my lord, but do thou rather hearken to what I say: The field I deliver to thee, and the cave that is therein, in the presence of the children of my people, bury thy dead.
12 And Abraham bowed himself before the people of the land.
Abraham bowed down before the people of the land,
13 And he spoke to Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, But if thou [wilt give it], I pray thee, hear me: I will give thee money for the field: take [it] of me, and I will bury my dead there.
And he spoke to Ephron, in the presence of the people: I beseech thee to hear me: I will give money for the field: take it, and so I will bury my dead in it.
14 And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him,
And Ephron answered:
15 My lord, hearken to me: the land [is worth] four hundred shekels of silver; what [is] that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.
My lord, hear me. The ground which thou desirest, is worth four hundred sicles of silver: this is the price between me and thee: but what is this? bury thy dead.
16 And Abraham hearkened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current [money] with the merchant.
And when Abraham had heard this, he weighed out the money that Ephron had asked, in the hearing of the children of Heth, four hundred sicles of silver of common current money.
17 And the field of Ephron, which [was] in Machpelah, which [was] before Mamre, the field and the cave which [was] in it, and all the trees that [were] in the field, that [were] in all the borders round about, were made sure
And the field that before was Ephron’s, wherein was the double cave, looking towards Mambre, both it and the cave, and all the trees thereof in all its limits round about,
18 To Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that entered the gate of his city.
Was made sure to Abraham for a possession, in the sight of the children of Heth, and of all that went in at the gate of his city.
19 And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre: the same [is] Hebron in the land of Canaan.
And so Abraham buried Sara his wife, in a double cave of the field, that looked towards Mambre, this is Hebron in the land of Chanaan.
20 And the field, and the cave that [is] in it were made sure to Abraham for a possession of a burying-place, by the sons of Heth.
And the field was made sure to Abraham, and the cave that was in it, for a possession to bury in, by the children of Heth.