Limitless Word
Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you—in about a year—and Sarah will have a son.”
Genesis 18:14 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Is anything too hard for Yahweh? At the set time I will return to you, when the season comes round, and Sarah will have a son.”
  • KJV Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.
  • NKJV Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”
  • NASB Is anything too difficult for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”
  • NLT Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

God asks, 'Is anything too hard for Yahweh?' and reaffirms the promised son.

Overview

This rhetorical question is a cornerstone declaration of God's omnipotence, echoed throughout Scripture (Jeremiah 32:17; Luke 1:37). It answers Sarah's doubt by pointing to God's limitless power rather than human capacity. The fixed timetable and renewed promise display the certainty of God's word, which finds its yes in Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 30

  • Luke 1:37For no word from God will ever fail.”
  • Matt 19:26Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
  • Mark 10:27Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”
  • Jer 32:27“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for Me?
  • Eph 3:20Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us,
  • Job 42:2“I know that You can do all things and that no plan of Yours can be thwarted.
  • Phil 4:13I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
  • Jer 32:17“Oh, Lord GOD! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You!
  • Rom 4:21being fully persuaded that God was able to do what He had promised.
  • Num 11:23The LORD answered Moses, “Is the LORD’s arm too short? Now you will see whether or not My word will come to pass.”
  • 2 Kgs 4:16And Elisha declared, “At this time next year, you will hold a son in your arms.” “No, my lord,” she said. “Do not lie to your maidservant, O man of God.”
  • Deut 7:21Do not be terrified by them, for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God.
  • Matt 14:31Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and took hold of Peter. “You of little faith,” He said, “why did you doubt?”
  • Gen 18:10Then the LORD said, “I will surely return to you at this time next year, and your wife Sarah will have a son!” Now Sarah was behind him, listening at the entrance to the tent.
  • Luke 1:13But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.
  • Deut 30:3then He will restore you from captivity and have compassion on you and gather you from all the nations to which the LORD your God has scattered you.
  • Zech 8:6This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “If this is impossible in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be impossible in My eyes?” declares the LORD of Hosts.
  • Ps 95:3For the LORD is a great God, a great King above all gods.
  • Mic 7:18Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance—who does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in loving devotion?
  • Gen 17:21But I will establish My covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.”
  • Job 36:5Indeed, God is mighty, but He despises no one; He is mighty in strength of understanding.
  • Luke 8:50But Jesus overheard them and said to Jairus, “Do not be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.”
  • Heb 11:19Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and in a sense, he did receive Isaac back from death.
  • 1 Sam 14:6Jonathan said to the young man bearing his armor, “Come, let us cross over to the outpost of these uncircumcised men. Perhaps the LORD will work on our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few.”
  • Luke 1:18“How can I be sure of this?” Zechariah asked the angel. “I am an old man, and my wife is well along in years.”
  • Matt 3:9And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.
  • Ps 93:1The LORD reigns! He is robed in majesty; the LORD has clothed and armed Himself with strength. The world indeed is firmly established; it cannot be moved.
  • Phil 3:21who, by the power that enables Him to subject all things to Himself, will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body.
  • 2 Kgs 7:1–2Then Elisha said, “Hear the word of the LORD! This is what the LORD says: ‘About this time tomorrow at the gate of Samaria, a seah of fine flour will sell for a shekel, and two seahs of barley will sell for a shekel.’”
  • Ps 90:13Return, O LORD! How long will it be? Have compassion on Your servants.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (9)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Genesis videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Genesis 18:14YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on GenesisMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.

How Genesis 18:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.