Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.
Parallel translations
- WEB Then Sarah denied it, saying, “I didn’t laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
- BSB But Sarah was afraid, so she denied it and said, “I did not laugh.” “No,” replied the LORD, “but you did laugh.”
- NKJV But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh!”
- NASB Sarah denied it, however, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
- NLT Sarah was afraid, so she denied it, saying, “I didn’t laugh.” But the Lord said, “No, you did laugh.”
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
Frightened, Sarah denies laughing, but the LORD gently insists she did.
Overview
Fear leads Sarah to deny the truth, yet God neither destroys her nor withdraws the promise. His patient correction shows mercy toward a struggling believer. The exchange highlights both human frailty and the steadfastness of God's grace, which does not depend on our perfect faith.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Prov 28:13He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
- 1 Jn 1:8If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
- Ps 44:21Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.
- Eph 4:23And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
- John 2:25And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.
- John 18:25–27And Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. They said therefore unto him, Art not thou also one of his disciples? He denied it, and said, I am not.
- Gen 12:13Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.
- John 18:17Then saith the damsel that kept the door unto Peter, Art not thou also one of this man’s disciples? He saith, I am not.
- Rom 3:19Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
- Gen 4:9And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?
- Job 2:10But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.
- Mark 2:8And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?
- Prov 12:19The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment.
- Col 3:9Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
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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 18:15 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
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