Genesis 23
New International Version
The Death of Sarah
23 Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. 2 She died at Kiriath Arba(A) (that is, Hebron)(B) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.(C)
3 Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites.[a](D) He said, 4 “I am a foreigner and stranger(E) among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead.(F)”
5 The Hittites replied to Abraham, 6 “Sir, listen to us. You are a mighty prince(G) among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead.”
7 Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites. 8 He said to them, “If you are willing to let me bury my dead, then listen to me and intercede with Ephron son of Zohar(H) on my behalf 9 so he will sell me the cave of Machpelah,(I) which belongs to him and is at the end of his field. Ask him to sell it to me for the full price as a burial site among you.”
10 Ephron the Hittite was sitting among his people and he replied to Abraham in the hearing of all the Hittites(J) who had come to the gate(K) of his city. 11 “No, my lord,” he said. “Listen to me; I give[b](L) you the field, and I give[c] you the cave that is in it. I give[d] it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead.”
12 Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land 13 and he said to Ephron in their hearing, “Listen to me, if you will. I will pay the price of the field. Accept it from me so I can bury my dead there.”
14 Ephron answered Abraham, 15 “Listen to me, my lord; the land is worth four hundred shekels[e] of silver,(M) but what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.”
16 Abraham 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,(N) according to the weight current among the merchants.(O)
17 So Ephron’s field in Machpelah(P) near Mamre(Q)—both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field—was deeded 18 to Abraham as his property(R) in the presence of all the Hittites(S) who had come to the gate(T) of the city. 19 Afterward Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah(U) near Mamre (which is at Hebron(V)) in the land of Canaan.(W) 20 So the field and the cave in it were deeded(X) to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site.(Y)
Footnotes
- Genesis 23:3 Or the descendants of Heth; also in verses 5, 7, 10, 16, 18 and 20
- Genesis 23:11 Or sell
- Genesis 23:11 Or sell
- Genesis 23:11 Or sell
- Genesis 23:15 That is, about 10 pounds or about 4.6 kilograms
Génesis 23
La Palabra (España)
Muerte y sepultura de Sara
23 Sara vivió ciento veintisiete años, 2 y murió en Quiriat Arbá, es decir, en la ciudad de Hebrón, en la tierra de Canaán. Abrahán fue a llorar a su mujer y a hacer duelo por ella. 3 Luego salió de donde estaba el cadáver de Sara y fue a proponer a los hititas lo siguiente:
4 — Aunque soy un forastero, un extranjero entre vosotros, vendedme una sepultura en propiedad dentro de vuestro territorio para poder enterrar a mi mujer difunta.
5 Los hititas le respondieron:
6 — ¡Escúchanos, señor! Nosotros te consideramos un hombre distinguido por Dios. Sepulta a tu mujer difunta en el mejor de nuestros sepulcros. Ninguno de nosotros te negará su sepulcro para que la entierres.
7 Puesto en pie, Abrahán hizo una reverencia ante los hititas, los pobladores del país; 8 y les dijo:
— Si es vuestra voluntad que entierre aquí a mi mujer difunta, os ruego que intercedáis por mí ante Efrón, el hijo de Sojar, 9 para que me venda la cueva de Macpelá, que se encuentra en el extremo de su campo. Yo le pagaré lo que vale, y así tendré una sepultura en propiedad dentro de vuestro territorio.
10 Como Efrón, el hitita, estaba allí, entre ellos, contestó a Abrahán delante de sus paisanos hititas y de todos los que estaban reunidos a la puerta de la ciudad:
11 — No, señor mío, escúchame bien: te regalo el campo y también la cueva que está en él. Mis paisanos son testigos de que yo te lo regalo. Entierra allí a tu difunta mujer.
12 Pero Abrahán hizo otra reverencia a los habitantes del lugar 13 y, teniéndolos por testigos, dijo a Efrón:
— Escúchame, por favor: Yo te pago el precio del campo. Acéptalo para que yo entierre allí a mi difunta mujer.
14 A lo que Efrón respondió:
15 — Escúchame, señor mío: ¿qué es para ti o para mí un terreno que vale cuatrocientos siclos de plata? Anda, entierra a tu difunta mujer.
16 Abrahán cerró el acuerdo con Efrón y le pagó el precio convenido en presencia de los hititas: cuatrocientos siclos de plata de uso corriente entre los comerciantes. 17 Así fue como el campo de Efrón que estaba en Macpelá, frente a Mambré, junto con la cueva y todos los árboles frutales que estaban dentro de sus límites, 18 pasaron a ser propiedad de Abrahán, teniendo por testigos a los hititas y a todos los que asistieron al trato en la puerta de la ciudad.
19 Después de esto, Abrahán enterró a Sara en la cueva del campo de Macpelá, frente a Mambré, es decir, en Hebrón, en la tierra de Canaán. 20 De esta manera, los hititas cedieron a Abrahán, como sepultura en propiedad, tanto el campo como la cueva ubicada en él.
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
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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