Genesis 23

₁Sarah lived for 127 years and then she died. ₂She died in the city of Kiriath-Arba. The other name for that city was Hebron, in the land of Canaan. Abraham came, and he cried and mourned for Sarah. ₃Then he went away from his dead wife and asked the Hittite people: ₄‘I live here with you but I am a stranger in your land. Please give me a place of my own for a grave where I may bury my dead wife.’

₅The Hittites said to him: ₆‘Sir, you are an important man among us. You can choose from the best of our graves to bury your wife in. No one will stop you from burying your wife in a grave.’

₇Abraham stood up and bowed before the people of the land, the Hittites. ₈He said: ‘If you say yes, if I may bury my wife here, please talk to Ephron, the son of Zohar, ₉and ask him to give me the Machpelah Cave. The cave is at the end of his field. I will pay what he wants for a place in your land where I may bury my dead wife.’

₁₀Ephron was sitting among the Hittites and he answered and said to Abraham: ₁₁‘Sir, I will give you the whole field and the cave that is on it. I will give it to you so that you may bury your wife. I am saying this here so that my people can hear and be witnesses.’

₁₂Abraham bowed down again before the people of the land. ₁₃He said to Ephron: ‘I will give you the money that you want. I will pay the full price for the field so that I may bury my wife there. Please say yes.’

₁₄Ephron answered and said to Abraham: ₁₅‘Sir, listen to me. A field for only 400 pieces_of_silver, that is not a lot of money for people like us. You may bury your wife there.’

₁₆Abraham was happy and he weighed the 400 pieces_of_silver and he gave them to Ephron. The Hittites were witnesses. ₁₇That is how Abraham got the field that had belonged to Ephron. That field was in Machpelah, east of the town of Mamre. There was a cave on the field and there were a lot of trees. ₁₈The Hittite people were sitting at the town gate. They saw that Abraham had bought the field, and they were witnesses.

₁₉Then Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave on that field, near the town of Mamre in the land of Canaan. Mamre is another name for the town of Hebron. ₂₀This is how Abraham got the field and the cave on it from the Hittite people.