Genesis 23 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

The Burial of Sarah

Gen 23:1When Sarah was 127 years old,

Gen 23:2she died at Kiriath-arba (now called Hebron) in the land of Canaan. There Abraham mourned and wept for her.

Gen 23:3Then, leaving her body, he said to the Hittite elders,

Gen 23:4“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.”

Gen 23:5

Gen 23:5The Hittites replied to Abraham,

Gen 23:6

Gen 23:6“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.”

Gen 23:7

Gen 23:7Then Abraham bowed low before the Hittites

Gen 23:8

Gen 23:8and said, “Since you are willing to help me in this way, be so kind as to ask Ephron son of Zohar

Gen 23:9

Gen 23:9to 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.”

Gen 23:10

Gen 23:10Ephron was sitting there among the others, and he answered Abraham as the others listened, speaking publicly before all the Hittite elders of the town.

Gen 23:11

Gen 23:11“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.”

Gen 23:12

Gen 23:12Abraham again bowed low before the citizens of the land,

Gen 23:13

Gen 23:13and 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.”

Gen 23:14

Gen 23:14Ephron answered Abraham,

Gen 23:15

Gen 23:15“My lord, please listen to me. The land is worth 400 pieces[fn] of silver, but what is that between friends? Go ahead and bury your dead.”

Gen 23:16

Gen 23:16So 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.

Gen 23:17

Gen 23:17So 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.

Gen 23:18

Gen 23:18It was transferred to Abraham as his permanent possession in the presence of the Hittite elders at the city gate.

Gen 23:19

Gen 23:19Then Abraham buried his wife, Sarah, there in Canaan, in the cave of Machpelah, near Mamre (also called Hebron).

Gen 23:20

Gen 23:20So the field and the cave were transferred from the Hittites to Abraham for use as a permanent burial place.

See the NLT Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

NLT Footnotes

(23:15)

Hebrew 400 shekels, about 10 pounds or 4.6 kilograms in weight; also in 23:16.

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