Genesis 23
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised
Sarah’s Burial
23 Now Sarah lived for 127 years; these were all the years of her life. 2 Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron(A)) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.
3 When Abraham got up from beside his dead wife, he spoke to the Hethites: 4 ‘I am a foreigner residing among you.(B) Give me burial property among you so that I can bury my dead.’[a](C)
5 The Hethites replied to Abraham,[b] 6 ‘Listen to us, my lord. You are a prince of God[c] among us. Bury your dead in our finest burial place.[d] None of us will withhold from you his burial place for burying your dead.’
7 Then Abraham rose and bowed down to the Hethites, the people of the land. 8 He said to them, ‘If you are willing for me to bury my dead, listen to me and ask Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf 9 to give me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him; it is at the end of his field. Let him give it to me in your presence, for the full price, as burial property.’
10 Ephron was sitting among the Hethites. So in the hearing[e] of all the Hethites who came to the gate of his city,(D) Ephron the Hethite answered Abraham: 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 sight[f] of my people. Bury your dead.’
12 Abraham bowed down to the people of the land 13 and said to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, ‘Listen to me, if you please. Let me pay the price of the field. Accept it from me, and let me bury my dead there.’
14 Ephron answered Abraham and said to him, 15 ‘My lord, listen to me. Land worth four hundred shekels of silver(E) – what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.” 16 Abraham agreed with Ephron, and Abraham weighed out to Ephron the silver that he had agreed to in the hearing of the Hethites: four hundred standard shekels[g] of silver.(F) 17 So Ephron’s field(G) at Machpelah near Mamre – the field with its cave and all the trees anywhere within the boundaries of the field – became 18 Abraham’s possession in the sight of all the Hethites who came to the gate of his city. 19 After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of the field at Machpelah near Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 The field with its cave passed from the Hethites to Abraham(H) as burial property.
Genesis 23
International Children’s Bible
Sarah Dies
23 Sarah lived to be 127 years old. 2 She died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham was very sad and cried because of her. 3 After a while Abraham got up from the side of his wife’s body. And he went to talk to the Hittites. He said, 4 “I am only a stranger and a foreigner here. Sell me some of your land so that I can bury my dead wife.”
5 The Hittites answered Abraham, 6 “Sir, you are a great leader among us. You may have the best place we have to bury your dead. You may have any of our burying places that you want. None of us will stop you from burying your dead wife.”
7 Abraham rose and bowed to the people of the land, the Hittites. 8 Abraham said to them, “If you truly want to help me bury my dead wife here, speak to Ephron for me. He is the son of Zohar. 9 Ask him to sell me the cave of Machpelah. It is at the edge of his field. I will pay him the full price. You can be the witnesses that I am buying it as a burial place.”
10 Ephron was sitting among the Hittites at the city gate. Ephron answered Abraham, 11 “No, sir. I will give you the land and the cave that is in it. I will give it to you with these people as witnesses. Bury your dead wife.”
12 Then Abraham bowed down before the Hittites. 13 He said to Ephron before all the people, “Please let me pay you the full price for the field. Accept my money, and I will bury my dead there.”
14 Ephron answered Abraham, 15 “Sir, the land is worth ten pounds of silver. But I won’t argue with you over the price. Take the land, and bury your dead wife.”
16 Abraham agreed and paid Ephron in front of the Hittite witnesses. Abraham weighed out the full price: ten pounds of silver. They counted the weight as the traders normally did.
17-18 So Ephron’s field in Machpelah, east of Mamre, was sold. Abraham became the owner of the field, the cave in it and all the trees that were in the field. The sale was made at the city gate, with the Hittites as witnesses. 19 After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave. It was in that field of Machpelah, near Mamre. (Mamre was later called Hebron in the land of Canaan.) 20 Abraham bought the field and the cave on it from the Hittites. He used it as a burying place.
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The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
