Genesis 23
1 And the life of Sarah is a hundred and twenty and seven years — years of the life of Sarah;
When Sarah was 127 years old,
2 and Sarah dieth in Kirjath-Arba, which [is] Hebron, in the land of Caanan, and Abraham goeth in to mourn for Sarah, and to bewail her.
she died at Kiriath-Arba [town], which is now called Hebron, in the Canaan region. After Abraham mourned for her,
3 And Abraham riseth up from the presence of his dead, and speaketh unto the sons of Heth, saying,
he left the body of his wife and [went and] spoke to some of the descendants of Heth, saying,
4 'A sojourner and a settler I [am] with you; give to me a possession of a burying-place with you, and I bury my dead from before me.'
“I am a foreigner [DOU] living among you, [so I do not own any land here]. Sell me some land here so that I can bury my wife’s body.”
5 And the sons of Heth answer Abraham, saying to him,
They replied to him,
6 'Hear us, my lord; a prince of God [art] thou in our midst; in the choice of our burying-places bury thy dead: none of us his burying-place doth withhold from thee, from burying thy dead.'
“Sir, you are a powerful prince among us. Choose one of our finest tombs and bury your wife’s [body] in it. None of us will refuse to sell land to you for a tomb for your relatives’ bodies.”
7 And Abraham riseth and boweth himself to the people of the land, to the sons of Heth,
Then Abraham stood up and bowed [in respect] in front of the people who owned the land, the descendants of Heth.
8 and he speaketh with them, saying, 'If it is your desire to bury my dead from before me, hear me, and meet for me with Ephron, son of Zoar;
He said to them, “If you say that you are willing for me to bury my wife’s body here, listen to me, and ask Ephron, the son of Zohar for me,
9 and he giveth to me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which [is] in the extremity of his field; for full money doth he give it to me, in your midst, for a possession of a burying-place.'
to sell to me the cave in the Machpelah area, which is at the end of his field. Ask him to sell it to me for the full price he wants, so that I can have a burial ground among you.”
10 And Ephron is sitting in the midst of the sons of Heth, and Ephron the Hittite answereth Abraham in the ears of the sons of Heth, of all those entering the gate of his city, saying,
Ephron was sitting among the people near the city gate where many [HYP] descendants of Heth had gathered. He heard what Abraham said to them.
11 'Nay, my lord, hear me: the field I have given to thee, and the cave that [is] in it, to thee I have given it; before the eyes of the sons of my people I have given it to thee — bury thy dead.'
[So, just to make the customary reply to start the real discussion about a price], Ephron said, “No, sir, listen to me. I will give to you the field and the cave in it, without charge, with the people here as witnesses.”
12 And Abraham boweth himself before the people of the land,
Abraham again bowed before the people who lived in the area,
13 and speaketh unto Ephron in the ears of the people of the land, saying, 'Only — if thou wouldest hear me — I have given the money of the field — accept from me, and I bury my dead there.'
and said to Ephron, as all the others were listening, “[No], listen to me. If you are willing, I will pay for the field. You tell me what the price is, and I will give it to you. If you accept it, the field will become mine, and I can bury my wife’s body there.”
14 And Ephron answereth Abraham, saying to him,
Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him,
15 'My lord, hear me: the land — four hundred shekels of silver; between me and thee, what [is] it? — thy dead bury.'
“Sir, listen to me. The land is worth 400 pieces of silver. But the price is not important to you and me. Give me the money and bury your wife’s body there.”
16 And Abraham hearkeneth unto Ephron, and Abraham weigheth to Ephron the silver which he hath spoken of in the ears of the sons of Heth, four hundred silver shekels, passing with the merchant.
Abraham agreed with Ephron about the price, and weighed for Ephron the 400 pieces of silver he had suggested, as everyone was listening, using the standard weights for silver used [in that area] by people who sold things.
17 And established are the field of Ephron, which [is] in Machpelah, which [is] before Mamre, the field and the cave which [is] in it, and all the trees which [are] in the field, which [are] in all its border round about,
So Ephron’s field in the Machpelah area, near Mamre, and the cave in the field, and all the trees that were in the field inside the boundaries of the land, became Abraham’s possession.
18 to Abraham by purchase, before the eyes of the sons of Heth, among all entering the gate of his city.
It became Abraham’s property as all the descendants of Heth were listening there at the city gate.
19 And after this hath Abraham buried Sarah his wife at the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre (which [is] Hebron), in the land of Canaan;
After that, Abraham buried his wife Sarah’s body in the cave in the field in the Machpelah area near Mamre, which is now called Hebron [city], in the Canaan region.
20 and established are the field, and the cave which [is] in it, to Abraham for a possession of a burying-place, from the sons of Heth.
So the field and the cave in it were officially sold to Abraham by the descendants of Heth, to be used as a burial ground.
