Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed for doing comparisons of different translations. Click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.
Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clearImportance=normal (All still tentative.)
OET (OET-RV)“My master, listen to us. You’re a mighty prince among us. Go ahead andbury your dead in the choicest of our burial places. We’ve all agreed not to prevent you from burying your dead in any of our cemeteries.”
Key: khaki:verbs, red:negative, blue:Elohim.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
BrLXXἌκουσον δὲ ἡμῶν· βασιλεὺς παρὰ Θεοῦ σὺ εἶ ἐν ἡμῖν· ἐν τοῖς ἐκλεκτοῖς μνημείοις ἡμῶν θάψον τὸν νεκρόν σου· οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἡμῶν οὐ μὴ κωλύσει τὸ μνημεῖον αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ σοῦ, τοῦ θάψαι τὸν νεκρόν σου ἐκεῖ. (Akouson de haʸmōn; basileus para Theou su ei en haʸmin; en tois eklektois mnaʸmeiois haʸmōn thapson ton nekron sou; oudeis gar haʸmōn ou maʸ kōlusei to mnaʸmeion autou apo sou, tou thapsai ton nekron sou ekei. )
BrTrbut hear us; thou art in the midst of us a king from God; bury thy dead in our choice sepulchres, for not one of us will by any means withhold his sepulchre from thee, so that thou shouldest not bury thy dead there.
ULT“Listen to us, my lord. You are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places. Each of us will not withhold from you his burial place to bury your dead.”
UST“Sir, please listen to what we propose: You are a powerful man living among us. Soyou may bury the body of your wife who has died in any one of our best burial sites. All of us are willing for you to use any of our burial sites to bury her.”
BSB“Listen to us, sir. You are God’s chosen one among us. Bury your dead in the finest of our tombs. None of us will withhold his tomb for burying your dead.”
OEB‘Hear us, my lord; you are a mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the best of our burial places. None of us will withhold from you his burial place, so that you may bury your dead.’
WEBBE“Hear us, my lord. You are a prince of God amongst us. Bury your dead in the best of our tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb. Bury your dead.”
NET“Listen, sir, you are a mighty prince among us! You may bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb to prevent you from burying your dead.”
LSV“Hear us, my lord; a prince of God [are] you in our midst; in the choice of our burying-places bury your dead: none of our burying-places do we withhold from you, from burying your dead.”
FBV“Listen, my lord, you are a highly-respected prince among us. Choose the very best of our burial sites to bury your dead. None of us will say no to you.”
T4T“Sir, you are a powerful prince among us. Choose one of our finest tombs and bury your wife’s body in it. None of us will refuse to sell land to you for a tomb for your relatives’ bodies.”
LEB“Hear us, my lord, you are a mighty prince[fn] in our midst. Bury your dead in the choicest of our burial sites. None of us will withhold his burial site[fn] from you for burying your dead.”
23:6Literally “will withhold from himself his burial site
BBEMy lord, truly you are a great chief among us; take the best of our resting-places for your dead; not one of us will keep back from you a place where you may put your dead to rest.
JPS'Hear 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.'
ASVHear us, my lord; thou art a prince of God 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.
DRAMy Lord, hear us, thou art a prince of God among us: bury thy dead in our principal sepulchres: and no man shall have power to hinder thee from burying thy dead in his sepulchre.
YLT'Hear us, my lord; a prince of God [art] thou in our midst; in the choice of our burying-places bury thy dead: none of us his burying-place doth withhold from thee, from burying thy dead.'
DrbyHear us, my lord: thou art a prince of [fn]God among us: in the choicest of our sepulchres bury thy dead: none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre for burying thy dead.
RVHear 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.
WbstrHear us, my lord; thou art a mighty prince among us: in the choice of our sepulchers bury thy dead: none of us will withhold from thee his sepulcher, but that thou mayest bury thy dead.
KJB-1769Hear 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.[fn] (Hear us, my lord: thou/you art a mighty prince among us: in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy/your dead; none of us shall withhold from thee/you his sepulchre, but that thou/you mayest/may bury thy/your dead. )
KJB-1611[fn]Heare vs, my LORD, thou art a mightie Prince amongst vs: in the choise of our sepulchres bury thy dead: none of vs shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead. (Hear us, my LORD, thou/you art a mighty Prince amongst us: in the choise of our sepulchres bury thy/your dead: none of us shall withhold from thee/you his sepulchre, but that thou/you mayest/may bury thy/your dead.)
BshpsHeare vs my Lorde, thou art a prince of God amongest vs, in the chiefest of our sepulchres bury thy dead: none of vs shall forbyd thee his sepulchre, but thou mayest bury thy dead therin. (Hear us my Lord, thou/you art a prince of God amongst us, in the chiefest of our sepulchres bury thy/your dead: none of us shall forbyd thee/you his sepulchre, but thou/you mayest/may bury thy/your dead therein.)
GnvaHeare vs, my lorde: thou art a prince of God among vs: in the chiefest of our sepulchres bury thy dead: none of vs shall forbid thee his sepulchre, but thou mayest bury thy dead therein. (Hear us, my lorde: thou/you art a prince of God among us: in the chiefest of our sepulchres bury thy/your dead: none of us shall forbid thee/you his sepulchre, but thou/you mayest/may bury thy/your dead therein. )
CvdlO heare lorde, thou art a prynce of God amonge vs: bury thy dead in the best of oure sepulcres, there shall none of vs forbyd ye, that thou shuldest not bury thy deed in his sepulcre. (O hear lord, thou/you art a prince of God among us: bury thy/your dead in the best of our sepulcres, there shall none of us forbyd ye/you_all, that thou/you shuldest not bury thy/your dead in his sepulcre.)
Wyclthou art the prince of God anentis vs; birie thou thi deed bodi in oure chosun sepulcris, and no man schal mow forbede thee, that ne thou birie thi deed bodi in the sepulcre of him. (thou art the prince of God anentis us; birie thou/you thy/your dead body in our chosen sepulcris, and no man shall mow forbede thee/you, that nor thou/you birie thy/your dead body in the sepulcre of him.)
LuthHöre uns, lieber Herr! Du bist ein Fürst Gottes unter uns; begrabe deinen Toten in unsern ehrlichsten Gräbern; kein Mensch soll dir unter uns wehren, daß du in seinem Grabe nicht begrabest deinen Toten. (Listen uns, dear Lord! You are a Fürst God’s under uns; begrabe deinen Toten in unsern ehrlichsten Gräbern; kein person should you/to_you under us/to_us/ourselves wehren, that you in his grave not begrabest deinen Toten.)
ClVgAudi nos, domine: princeps Dei es apud nos: in electis sepulchris nostris sepeli mortuum tuum, nullusque te prohibere poterit quin in monumento ejus sepelias mortuum tuum. (Audi we, domine: prince of_God you_are apud nos: in electis sepulchris nostris sepeli mortuum tuum, nullusque you(sg) prohibere poterit quin in monumento his sepelias mortuum tuum. )
23:1-20 When Sarah . . . died, Abraham acquired a parcel of land for a burial place. This transaction was the first sign that a permanent transition had taken place, as people were normally buried in their ancestral homeland (cp. 49:29–50:13). In burying Sarah, Abraham detached from his just-mentioned ancestral home (where his relatives still lived, 22:20-24); his future would be in Canaan, where his descendants would realize the promise.
Abraham was not their actual lord or master. Rather, the Hittites are addressing him in a respectful manner. Also, for some languages it is more natural or respectful to put the form of address “My lord” or “Sir” first in this quote. Do what is best in your language. Alternate translation: “Please listen to our proposal, my lord”
נְשִׂ֨יא אֱלֹהִ֤ים אַתָּה֙
prince ʼElohīm you(ms)
The Hebrew text is ambiguous here. It could mean: (1) “You are a powerful/important leader/man” or (2) “You are a leader/man of/from God”. The interpretation that you do not follow in your translation could be put in a footnote.
בְּתוֹכֵ֔נוּ
in/on/at/with,midst,us
Alternate translation: “who lives among our people.”
קְבֹ֖ר
bury
Make sure that the reply of the Hittites sounds polite here in your translation. Alternate translation: “So you may put”
For some languages it may be better to change the order of the phrases in this sentence and say, “So please choose any one of our best burial sites and bury/put your dead/deceased wife there.” Do what is best in your language. Alternate translation: “places to bury people who have died.” or “tombs.”
(a)_man from=him/it DOM tomb,his not withhold from,you for,burying
Alternate translation: “Each of us is happy to give you some of his land where you can bury” or “All of us are happy for you to use any of our burial sites to bury”
מֵתֶֽךָ
dead,your
Consider what is the best way in your language to refer to Sarah’s dead body here since it was just mentioned in the previous sentence. Alternate translation: “your dead wife.”
Though the patriarch Isaac moved from place to place several times within southern Canaan, compared to his father Abraham and his son Jacob, Isaac appears to have been a bit of a homebody. In fact, unless Isaac resettled in places not recorded in Scripture, the farthest extent he ever traveled appears to have been only about 90 miles (113 km). Yet, as the child of God’s promise to Abraham to build a great nation from his descendants, Isaac’s relatively simple life served as a critical bridge from Abraham to the beginnings of the twelve tribes of Israel, who were descended from Isaac’s son Jacob. It is likely that Isaac was born at Beersheba (see Genesis 21:1-24), and later Abraham offered him as a sacrifice on Mount Moriah (located at Jerusalem; see 2 Chronicles 3:1). Then Abraham, Isaac, and those with them returned to Beersheba (Genesis 22:1-19). When Isaac reached adulthood, his father sent a servant to bring back a bride for him from Aram-naharaim, far north of Canaan. When his bride, Rebekah, arrived, Isaac had just come from Beer-lahai-roi and settled in the Negev (Genesis 24:62). Later Isaac resettled with Rebekah in Beer-lahai-roi, and this may have been where their twins son Esau and Jacob were born. A famine forced Isaac to go to Gerar (Genesis 26:1-6) in “the land of the Philistines.” The distinct people group known as the Philistines in later books of the Bible did not arrive until the time of the Judges, so the term here must have referred to another people group living in this region, and this is supported by the fact that King Abimelech’s name is Semitic, not Aegean (the likely origin of the later Philistines). While Isaac was there, he repeated his father’s error (Genesis 20) by lying to the king that his wife was only his sister. Isaac also became increasingly prosperous at Gerar, so the Philistines told him to leave their region. Isaac moved away from the town of Gerar and settled further away in the valley of Gerar. There he dug a well, but the Philistines claimed it for themselves, so he called it Esek, meaning “argument.” So Isaac’s men dug another well and called it Sitnah (meaning “hostility”), but it led to more quarreling, so he dug yet another well and called it Rehoboth (meaning “open space”). The locations of these two later wells are not certain, but they may have been located near Ruheibeh as shown on this map. Then Isaac moved to Beersheba and built an altar. He also dug a well there, and King Abimelech of the Philistines came and exchanged oaths of peace with him. It was likely at Beersheba that Isaac blessed his sons Esau and Jacob, and both sons eventually left Canaan (see “Jacob Goes to Paddan-Aram” map). When Jacob later returned, he traveled to Mamre near Hebron and reunited with Isaac. Sometime after this Isaac died, and Jacob and Esau buried him there.
