Genesis 23:8

וַיְדַבֵּר אִתָּם לֵאמֹר אִם־יֵשׁ אֶֽת־נַפְשְׁכֶם לִקְבֹּר אֶת־מֵתִי מִלְּפָנַי שְׁמָעוּנִי וּפִגְעוּ־לִי בְּעֶפְרוֹן בֶּן־צֹֽחַר׃

✦ Hebrew interlinear

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✦ The same verse in five languages

Hebrew

וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר אִתָּ֖ם לֵאמֹ֑ר אִם־יֵ֣שׁ אֶֽת־נַפְשְׁכֶ֗ם לִקְבֹּ֤ר אֶת־מֵתִי֙ מִלְּפָנַ֔י שְׁמָע֕וּנִי וּפִגְעוּ־לִ֖י בְּעֶפְר֥וֹן בֶּן־צֹֽחַר׃

Greek (Septuagint)

καὶ ἐλάλησεν πρὸς αὐτοὺς Ἀβραὰμ λέγων Εἰ ἔχετε τῇ ψυχῇ ὑμῶν ὥστε θάψαι τὸν νεκρόν μου ἀπὸ προσώπου μου, ἀκούσατέ μου καὶ λαλήσατε περὶ ἐμοῦ Ἐφρὼν τῷ τοῦ Σάαρ·

Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0

Latin (Vulgate)

dixitque ad eos: Si placet animæ vestræ ut sepeliam mortuum meum, audite me, et intercedite pro me apud Ephron filium Seor:

Spanish

y les dijo: “Si de veras están de acuerdo en que yo sepulte aquí a mi esposa, escúchenme y pídanle de mi parte a Efrón, el hijo de Zojar,

Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)

Y habló con ellos, diciendo: Si tenéis voluntad que yo sepulte mi muerto de delante de mí, oidme, é interceded por mí con Ephrón, hijo de Zohar,

English

“ If you are willing for me to bury my dead,” he said to them, “ listen to me, and approach Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf

✦ What the text says

Summary

Abraham speaks to the Hittites, asking whether they consent (literally, whether it is present in their "soul" or desire) to let him bury his dead. He then asks them to listen to him and to intercede on his behalf with Ephron son of Zohar.

Key words

yedaBer ("he spoke", H1696G) — piel verb in the narrative chain (introduced by the vav H9001), marking the next event in the story sequence: Abraham's speech to the assembly.
nafshekem (built from nefesh, "desire/soul", H5315L + suffix H9026) — a construct noun with a possessive suffix meaning "your soul/desire"; combined with yesh ("there is/exists", H3426) and the particle 'im ("if", H0518A), it forms the idiom "if there is [in] your soul/desire," i.e., a query about their inner disposition or willingness.
liqBor ("to bury", infinitive of H6912) — qal infinitive expressing purpose/goal ("in order to bury"), governed by the preposition li (H9005).
shema'Uni ("listen to me", H8085G + suffix H9030) — qal imperative plural with 1st-person object suffix, a direct command addressed to the group ("you all, listen to me").
fig'u-li ("entreat for me", H6293 + preposition-suffix H9005/H9030) — qal imperative plural, "entreat/approach on my behalf," coordinated with the previous imperative by the conjunction u- (H9002).

What the text says

The verse opens with the narrative va- prefix attached to yedaBer ("he spoke"), continuing the sequence of events from the surrounding narrative. The speech itself is introduced by le'mor ("saying", infinitive of H0559), a standard formula preceding direct discourse.

The content of the speech begins with a conditional clause built on the particle 'im ("if", H0518A) and the existential yesh ("there is", H3426), combined with nafshekem ("your soul/desire", construct + suffix). This construction — "if there exists [in] your soul/desire" — expresses a question about the addressees' willingness rather than a simple yes/no condition; the noun nefesh here functions in its sense of inner disposition or intent. The purpose clause liqBor ("to bury") uses the infinitive with li- to state the goal of that willingness: burying "my dead" (meti, participle-construct of H4191 with 1st-person suffix), located millefanai ("from before me / out of my presence", built on panim, H6440H, construct plural + suffix).

The second half contains two coordinated imperatives, shema'uni ("listen to me") and u-fig'u-li ("and entreat for me"), both addressed collectively to "you all" (masculine plural). The second imperative uses paga' ("to entreat/meet/intercede", H6293) with the preposition li ("for me"), directing the request specifically toward Ephron son of Zohar, named at the end of the verse.

Differences between versions

The LXX inserts the name "Abraham" (Ἀβραὰμ) explicitly as the subject of "he spoke," which is not present in the Hebrew text (the Hebrew subject is implied by verb agreement only). The LXX also renders fig'u-li ("entreat for me") as λαλήσατε περὶ ἐμοῦ ("speak concerning me"), a more general verb of speech rather than the Hebrew's paga' ("entreat/approach"). The Vulgate's intercedite pro me ("intercede for me") stays closer to the sense of paga' as a plea or approach on someone's behalf.

This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.