Genesis 23
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Sarah’s Burial
23 Now Sarah lived 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 to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.
3 Then Abraham got up from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites:[a] 4 “I am a foreign resident among you.(B) Give me a burial site among you so that I can bury my dead.”[b](C)
5 The Hittites replied to Abraham,[c] 6 “Listen to us, lord.[d] You are God’s chosen one[e] among us. Bury your dead in our finest burial place.[f] None of us will withhold from you his burial place for burying your dead.”
7 Then Abraham rose and bowed down to the Hittites, 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 a burial place.”
10 Ephron was sitting among the Hittites. So in the presence[g] of all the Hittites who came to the gate of his city,(D) Ephron the Hittite 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 presence[h] of my people. Bury your dead.”
12 Abraham bowed down to the people of the land 13 and said to Ephron in the presence[i] of the people of the land, “Please listen to me. 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 400 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 presence[j] of the Hittites: 400 shekels of silver at the current commercial rate.(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 presence of all the Hittites 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 Hittites to Abraham(H) as a burial place.
Read full chapterNotas al pie
- Genesis 23:3 Or sons of Heth; also in vv. 5,7,10,16,18,20
- Genesis 23:4 Lit dead from before me
- Genesis 23:5 Lit Abraham, saying to him
- Genesis 23:6 Lit my lord
- Genesis 23:6 Or prince of God, or mighty prince
- Genesis 23:6 Or finest graves
- Genesis 23:10 Lit ears
- Genesis 23:11 Lit in the eyes of the sons
- Genesis 23:13 Lit ears
- Genesis 23:16 Lit ears
Genesis 23
New Living Translation
The Burial of Sarah
23 When Sarah was 127 years old, 2 she died at Kiriath-arba (now called Hebron) in the land of Canaan. There Abraham mourned and wept for her.
3 Then, leaving her body, he said to the Hittite elders, 4 “Here I am, a stranger and a foreigner among you. Please sell me a piece of land so I can give my wife a proper burial.”
5 The Hittites replied to Abraham, 6 “Listen, my lord, you are an honored prince among us. Choose the finest of our tombs and bury her there. No one here will refuse to help you in this way.”
7 Then Abraham bowed low before the Hittites 8 and said, “Since you are willing to help me in this way, be so kind as to ask Ephron son of Zohar 9 to let me buy his cave at Machpelah, down at the end of his field. I will pay the full price in the presence of witnesses, so I will have a permanent burial place for my family.”
10 Ephron was sitting there among the others, and he answered Abraham as the others listened, speaking publicly before all the Hittite elders of the town. 11 “No, my lord,” he said to Abraham, “please listen to me. I will give you the field and the cave. Here in the presence of my people, I give it to you. Go and bury your dead.”
12 Abraham again bowed low before the citizens of the land, 13 and he replied to Ephron as everyone listened. “No, listen to me. I will buy it from you. Let me pay the full price for the field so I can bury my dead there.”
14 Ephron answered Abraham, 15 “My lord, please listen to me. The land is worth 400 pieces[a] of silver, but what is that between friends? Go ahead and bury your dead.”
16 So Abraham agreed to Ephron’s price and paid the amount he had suggested—400 pieces of silver, weighed according to the market standard. The Hittite elders witnessed the transaction.
17 So Abraham bought the plot of land belonging to Ephron at Machpelah, near Mamre. This included the field itself, the cave that was in it, and all the surrounding trees. 18 It was transferred to Abraham as his permanent possession in the presence of the Hittite elders at the city gate. 19 Then Abraham buried his wife, Sarah, there in Canaan, in the cave of Machpelah, near Mamre (also called Hebron). 20 So the field and the cave were transferred from the Hittites to Abraham for use as a permanent burial place.
Read full chapterCopyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
