GenesisChapter 23

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¹Sarah lived to be 127 years old. ²She died in Kiriath-arba, which is Hebron, in the land of Canaan. Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. ³Then Abraham got up from beside his dead wife. He spoke to the Hittites. ⁴"I am a foreigner and a stranger living among you. Give me a burial place here among you. Then I can bury my dead." ⁵The Hittites answered Abraham. ⁶"Listen to us, sir. You are God's chosen one among us. Bury your dead in the best of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb to bury your dead."a ⁷Then Abraham stood up and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites. ⁸He said to them, "If you are willing to let me bury my dead, listen to me. Speak to Ephron son of Zohar for me. ⁹Ask him to sell me the cave of Machpelah. It belongs to him, and it is at the end of his field. Let him sell it to me in front of you for the full price. Then I will have a place to bury the dead." ¹⁰Ephron was sitting among the Hittites. All the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city were there. In front of them, Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham. ¹¹"No, my lord. Listen to me. I give you the field. I also give you the cave that is in it. I give it to you in front of my people. Bury your dead." ¹²Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land. ¹³In front of them he said to Ephron, "Please listen to me. I will pay you the price of the field. Take it from me so I can bury my dead there." ¹⁴Ephron answered Abraham, ¹⁵"Listen to me, my lord. The land is worth 400 shekels of silver. But what is that between you and me? Bury your dead."b ¹⁶Abraham agreed to Ephron's price. He weighed out the amount Ephron had named while the Hittites listened. It was 400 shekels of silver, using the weights the traders used. ¹⁷So Ephron's field at Machpelah near Mamre was handed over. That included the field, the cave in it, and all the trees inside the edges of the field. ¹⁸It became Abraham's property. All the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city saw it happen. ¹⁹After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of the field at Machpelah. It was near Mamre, which is Hebron, in the land of Canaan. ²⁰So the Hittites handed over the field and its cave to Abraham as a place to bury the dead.