Sarah’s Burial

1Now Sarah lived 127 years; these were all the years of her life. 2Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebrona) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.

3Then Abraham got up from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites:b 4“I am a foreign resident among you.c Give me a burial site among you so that I can bury my dead.”d, e

5The Hittites replied to Abraham,f 6“Listen to us, lord.g You are God’s chosen oneh among us. Bury your dead in our finest burial place.i None of us will withhold from you his burial place for burying your dead.”

7Then Abraham rose and bowed down to the Hittites, the people of the land. 8He said to them, “If you are willing for me to bury my dead, listen to me and ask Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf 9to give me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him; it is at the end of his field. Let him give it to me in your presence, for the full price, as a burial place.”

10Ephron was sitting among the Hittites. So in the presencej of all the Hittites who came to the •gate of his city,k Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham: 11“No, my lord. Listen to me. I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. I give it to you in the presencel of my people. Bury your dead.”

12Abraham bowed down to the people of the land 13and said to Ephron in the presencem of the people of the land, “Please listen to me. Let me pay the price of the field. Accept it from me, and let me bury my dead there.”

14Ephron answered Abraham and said to him, 15“My lord, listen to me. Land worth 400 •shekels of silvern — what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.” 16Abraham agreed with Ephron, and Abraham weighed out to Ephron the silver that he had agreed to in the presenceo of the Hittites: 400 shekels of silver at the current commercial rate.p 17So Ephron’s fieldq at Machpelah near Mamre — the field with its cave and all the trees anywhere within the boundaries of the field — became 18Abraham’s possession in the presence of all the Hittites who came to the gate of his city. 19After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of the field at Machpelah near Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20The field with its cave passed from the Hittites to Abrahamr as a burial place.