23:1 Now ①Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah.
▷ ①Lit the life of Sarah was
23:2 Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan; and Abraham ①came in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.
▷ ①Or proceeded
23:3 Then Abraham arose from mourning before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying,
23:4 “I am a stranger and a foreign resident among you; give me ①a burial site among you so that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”
▷ ①Lit possession of a burial place
23:5 The sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him,
23:6 “Hear us, my lord: you are a ①mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our graves; none of us will refuse you his grave for burying your dead.”
▷ ①Lit prince of God
23:7 So Abraham stood up and bowed to the people of the land, the sons of Heth.
23:8 And he spoke with them, saying, “If ①you are willing to let me bury my dead out of my sight, listen to me, and plead with Ephron the son of Zohar for me,
▷ ①Lit it is with your soul
23:9 that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which he owns, which is at the end of his field; for the full price let him give it to me in ①your presence for ②a burial site.”
▷ ①Lit the midst of you ②Lit possession of a burial place
23:10 Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham ①so that the sons of Heth heard, that is, all who entered the gate of his city, saying,
▷ ①Lit in the ears of
23:11 “No, my lord, listen to me; I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the presence of the sons of my people I give it to you; bury your dead.”
23:12 And Abraham bowed before the people of the land.
23:13 But he spoke to Ephron ①so that the people of the land heard, saying, “If you will only please listen to me; I will give the price of the field, accept it from me so that I may bury my dead there.”
▷ ①Lit in the ears of
23:14 Then Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him,
23:15 “My lord, listen to me: a plot of land worth ①four hundred shekels of silver—what is that between me and you? So bury your dead.”
▷ ①About 12.5 lb. or 5.7 kg
23:16 Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver which he had named in the ①presence of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, currency acceptable to a merchant.
▷ ①Lit ears
23:17 So Ephron’s field, which was in Machpelah, which faced Mamre, the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees which were in the field, that were ①within all the confines of its border, ②were deeded over
▷ ①Lit in all its border around ②Or were ratified
23:18 to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who entered the gate of his city.
23:19 After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of the field of Machpelah facing Mamre (that is, Hebron), in the land of Canaan.
23:20 So the field and the cave that was in it ①were deeded over to Abraham for ②a burial site by the sons of Heth.
▷ ①Or were ratified ②Lit possession of a burial place