Genesis 23
New King James Version
Sarah’s Death and Burial
23 Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. 2 So Sarah died in (A)Kirjath Arba (that is, (B)Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.
3 Then Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of (C)Heth, saying, 4 (D)“I am a foreigner and a visitor among you. (E)Give me property for a burial place among you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”
5 And the sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him, 6 “Hear us, my lord: You are (F)a [a]mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places. None of us will withhold from you his burial place, that you may bury your dead.”
7 Then Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, the sons of Heth. 8 And he spoke with them, saying, “If it is your wish that I bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and [b]meet with Ephron the son of Zohar for me, 9 that he may give me the cave of (G)Machpelah which he has, which is at the end of his field. Let him give it to me at the full price, as property for a burial place among you.”
10 Now Ephron dwelt among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the presence of the sons of Heth, all who (H)entered at the gate of his city, saying, 11 (I)“No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field and the cave that is in it; I give it to you in the presence of the sons of my people. I give it to you. Bury your dead!”
12 Then Abraham bowed himself down before the people of the land; 13 and he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, “If you will give it, please hear me. I will give you money for the field; take it from me and I will bury my dead there.”
14 And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 15 “My lord, listen to me; the land is worth four hundred (J)shekels of silver. What is that between you and me? So bury your dead.” 16 And Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham (K)weighed out the silver for Ephron which he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, currency of the merchants.
17 So (L)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, which were within all the surrounding borders, were deeded 18 to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who 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 (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 So the field and the cave that is in it (M)were deeded to Abraham by the sons of Heth as property for a burial place.
Footnotes
- Genesis 23:6 Lit. prince of God
- Genesis 23:8 entreat
Genesis 23
English Standard Version
Sarah's Death and Burial
23 Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. 2 And Sarah died at (A)Kiriath-arba (that is, (B)Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. 3 And Abraham rose up from before his dead and said to the Hittites,[a] 4 (C)“I am a sojourner and foreigner among you; (D)give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” 5 The Hittites answered Abraham, 6 “Hear us, my lord; you are a prince of God[b] among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb to hinder you from burying your dead.” 7 Abraham rose and bowed to the Hittites, the people of the land. 8 And he said to them, “If you are willing that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me and entreat for me Ephron the son of Zohar, 9 that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns; it is at the end of his field. For the full price let him give it to me in your presence as property for a burying place.”
10 Now Ephron was sitting among the Hittites, and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites, of all who (E)went in at the gate of his city, 11 “No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the sight of the sons of my people I give it to you. Bury your dead.” 12 Then Abraham bowed down before the people of the land. 13 And he said to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, “But if you will, hear me: I give the price of the field. Accept it from me, that I may bury my dead there.” 14 Ephron answered Abraham, 15 “My lord, listen to me: a piece of land worth four hundred (F)shekels[c] of silver, what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.” 16 Abraham listened to Ephron, and Abraham (G)weighed out for Ephron the silver that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites, four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weights current among the merchants.
17 So (H)the field of Ephron in Machpelah, which was to the east of Mamre, the field with the cave that was in it and all the trees that were in the field, throughout its whole area, was made over 18 to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the Hittites, before all who went in at the gate of his city. 19 After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah east of Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 The field and the cave that is in it (I)were made over to Abraham as property for a burying place by the Hittites.
Footnotes
- Genesis 23:3 Hebrew sons of Heth; also verses 5, 7, 10, 16, 18, 20
- Genesis 23:6 Or a mighty prince
- Genesis 23:15 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
Geneza 23
Nouă Traducere În Limba Română
Moartea şi îngroparea Sarei
23 Sara a trăit o sută douăzeci şi şapte de ani; aceasta a fost durata vieţii ei. 2 Ea a murit la Chiriat-Arba, adică Hebron, în Canaan, iar Avraam s-a dus s-o jelească şi să plângă după ea. 3 Apoi Avraam s-a ridicat de lângă moarta sa şi le-a spus hitiţilor:
4 – Eu sunt doar un străin şi un peregrin printre voi: vindeţi-mi în mijlocul vostru un teren pentru înmormântare, pentru ca să-mi îngrop moarta dinaintea mea.
5 Hitiţii i-au răspuns lui Avraam:
6 – Ascultă-ne, domnul nostru! Tu eşti un prinţ puternic printre noi. Îngroapă-ţi moarta în cel mai bun dintre mormintele noastre; nici unul dintre noi nu te va opri să-ţi îngropi moarta în mormântul lui.
7 Avraam s-a ridicat şi s-a prosternat înaintea hitiţilor, poporul ţării. 8 El le-a zis:
– Dacă vreţi să-mi îngrop moarta dinaintea mea, atunci ascultaţi-mă şi rugaţi-l pentru mine pe Efron, fiul lui Ţohar, 9 să-mi vândă peştera Mahpela, care este a lui şi care se află la marginea ogorului său. Să mi-o vândă la un preţ întreg, ca teren pentru înmormântare printre voi.
10 Fiind printre ceilalţi hitiţi, Efron i-a răspuns lui Avraam în auzul tuturor hitiţilor care veniseră la poarta cetăţii sale:
11 – Nu, domnul meu, ascultă-mă! Îţi dau ogorul şi-ţi dau şi peştera care este în el; ţi-o dau în prezenţa oamenilor din poporul meu. Îngroapă-ţi moarta.
12 Atunci Avraam s-a prosternat înaintea poporului ţării 13 şi i-a zis lui Efron în auzul poporului:
– Ascultă-mă, te rog! Îţi voi plăti preţul pentru ogor; primeşte-l de la mine, pentru ca să-mi îngrop moarta acolo.
14 Efron i-a răspuns lui Avraam:
15 – Domnul meu, ascultă-mă: o bucată de pământ de patru sute de şecheli de argint[a], ce este aceasta între mine şi tine? Îngroapă-ţi moarta.
16 Avraam a fost de acord cu Efron şi i-a cântărit preţul pe care acesta l-a menţionat în auzul hitiţilor: patru sute de şecheli de argint, potrivit tarifelor comercianţilor.
17 Astfel, ogorul lui Efron din Mahpela, care se afla la răsărit de Mamre (adică ogorul, peştera care se afla în el, precum şi toţi copacii care erau pe acel teren) a trecut 18 în proprietatea lui Avraam prin cumpărare în prezenţa tuturor hitiţilor care veniseră la poarta cetăţii sale. 19 După aceea, Avraam a îngropat-o pe Sara, soţia sa, în peştera de pe ogorul din Mahpela, care se afla la răsărit de Mamre, adică Hebron, în ţara Canaan. 20 Astfel, ogorul şi peştera care se afla în el au trecut de la hitiţi în proprietatea lui Avraam, ca teren pentru înmormântare.
Footnotes
- Geneza 23:15 Aproximativ 4,8 kg, un preţ foarte mare; şi în v.16
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Nouă Traducere În Limba Română (Holy Bible, New Romanian Translation) Copyright © 2006 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

