Genesis 23

Modern

Literal

The Death and Burial of Sarah

¹Now Sarah lived to be 127 years old.

¹And the lifetime of Sarah was a hundred years and twenty years and seven years; the years of the lifetime of Sarah.

²She died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went out to mourn and to weep for her.

²And Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.

³Then Abraham got up from beside his dead wife and said to the Hittites,^a

³And Abraham rose up from before his dead one, and he spoke to the sons of Heth, saying,

⁴“I am a foreigner and an outsider among you. Give me a burial site among you so that I can bury my dead.”

⁴“I am a sojourner and a stranger among you; give to me a possession of a burial place with you, that I may bury my dead from before me.”

⁵The Hittites replied to Abraham,

⁵And the sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him,

⁶“Listen to us, sir. You are God’s chosen one among us. Bury your dead in the finest of our tombs. None of us will withhold his tomb for burying your dead.”

⁶“Hear us, my lord: You are a prince of God in our midst. In the choicest of our burial places bury your dead; none of us will withhold from you his burial place, from burying your dead.”

⁷Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites.

⁷And Abraham rose up and bowed himself to the people of the land, the sons of Heth.

⁸“If you are willing for me to bury my dead,” he said to them, “listen to me, and approach Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf

⁸And he spoke with them, saying, “If it is your desire that I bury my dead from before me, hear me and intercede for me with Ephron son of Zohar,

⁹to sell me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him; it is at the end of his field. Let him sell it to me in your presence for full price, so that I may have a burial site.”

⁹that he may give to me the cave of Machpelah which is his, which is at the end of his field. For full silver let him give it to me, in your midst, as a possession of a burial place.”

¹⁰Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth. So in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city, Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham,

¹⁰And Ephron was sitting in the midst of the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the ears of the sons of Heth—of all those entering at the gate of his city—saying,

¹¹“No, my lord. Listen to me. I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. I give it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead.”

¹¹“No, my lord, hear me: The field I give to you, and the cave that is in it I give it to you; before the eyes of the sons of my people I give it to you; bury your dead.”

¹²Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land

¹²And Abraham bowed himself before the people of the land,

¹³and said to Ephron in their presence, “If you will please listen to me, I will pay you the price of the field. Accept it from me, so that I may bury my dead there.”

¹³and he spoke to Ephron in the ears of the people of the land, saying, “Only if you—please—hear me: I give the silver for the field; take it from me, and I will bury my dead there.”

¹⁴Ephron answered Abraham,

¹⁴And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him,

¹⁵“Listen to me, my lord. The land is worth four hundred shekels of silver,^a but what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.”

¹⁵“My lord, hear me: Land worth four hundred shekels of silver—between me and between you, what is it? And bury your dead.”

¹⁶Abraham agreed to Ephron’s terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver, according to the standard of the merchants.

¹⁶And Abraham listened to Ephron, and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver that he had spoken of in the ears of the sons of Heth—four hundred shekels of silver, passing with the merchant.

¹⁷So Ephron’s field at Machpelah near Mamre, the cave that was in it, and all the trees within the boundaries of the field were deeded over

¹⁷And the field of Ephron that was in Machpelah, that was before Mamre—the field and the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all its surrounding border—was established

¹⁸to Abraham’s possession in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city.

¹⁸to Abraham as a possession before the eyes of the sons of Heth, of all those entering at the gate of his city.

¹⁹After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of the field at Machpelah near Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan.

¹⁹And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan.

²⁰So the field and its cave were deeded by the Hittites to Abraham as a burial site.

²⁰And the field and the cave that is in it were established to Abraham as a possession of a burial place from the sons of Heth.