Genesis

And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah.

1Sarah lived to be 127 years old. That was the whole length of her life.

2And Sarah died in Kirjatharba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.

2She died in Kirjatharba, which is also called Hebron, in the land of Canaan. Abraham came to be sad and to cry for her.

3And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying,

3Then Abraham stood up from beside his wife's body. He went to speak to the Hittites, the people who lived in that land.

4I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.

4He said, "I am a stranger living among you. Please let me buy a piece of land here. I need a place to bury my wife."

5And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him,

5The Hittites answered Abraham. They said to him:

6Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty prince among us: in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead.

6"Listen to us, sir. You are a great and important leader among us. Bury your wife in the best of our graves. Not one of us will keep his grave from you."

7And Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth.

7Then Abraham stood up and bowed low to the people of that land, the Hittites.

8And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight; hear me, and intreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar,

8He said, "If you are willing to let me bury my wife, then please listen. Ask Ephron, the son of Zohar, for me."

9That he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his field; for as much money as it is worth he shall give it me for a possession of a buryingplace amongst you.

9"Ask him to let me have the cave of Machpelah, which belongs to him. It sits at the far end of his field. I will pay him whatever it is worth. Then it will be my own burying place among you."

10And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth: and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying,

10Ephron the Hittite was sitting there with his own people. He answered Abraham out loud, at the city gate, so everyone there could hear.

NoteThe city gate was where people met to do business. A deal made there was seen by everyone, so no one could argue about it later.

11Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee; in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee: bury thy dead.

11"No, sir. Listen to me. I give you the field. I give you the cave that is in it too. I give it to you in front of my own people. Go and bury your wife."

12And Abraham bowed down himself before the people of the land.

12Again Abraham bowed low before the people of that land.

13And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me: I will give thee money for the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there.

13He spoke to Ephron so everyone could hear. "Please listen to me. I will pay you money for the field. Take it from me. Then I will bury my wife there."

14And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him,

14Ephron answered Abraham. He said to him:

15My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.

15"Listen to me, sir. The land is worth 400 pieces of silver. But that is a small thing between you and me. Go and bury your wife."

16And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.

16Abraham agreed to what Ephron said. In front of the Hittites, he weighed out the silver Ephron had named. It was 400 shekels of silver, weighed the way traders did it.

NoteA shekel was a weight, not a coin. People weighed out silver on a scale to pay for things.

17And the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the borders round about, were made sure

17So Ephron's field at Machpelah, near Mamre, now belonged to Abraham. That meant the field, the cave inside it, and every tree growing inside its edges.

18Unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city.

18It became Abraham's very own property. All the Hittites at the city gate watched it happen.

19And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan.

19After that, Abraham buried his wife Sarah. He laid her in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre, which is Hebron in the land of Canaan.

20And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a buryingplace by the sons of Heth.

20So the field and its cave truly belonged to Abraham. The Hittites agreed that it was his own place for burying.