| 1 |
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* 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. |
New Living Translation
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