Genesis 18:14
in Genesis 18Is 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.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Is anything too hard for Jehovah? At the set time I will return unto thee, when the season cometh round, and Sarah shall 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.
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This verse in Genesis 18
Commentary
7 notes on this verseIs anything too hard for the Lord?.... Whose power is infinite; or "too wonderful" (x), so wonderful and beyond all belief, that it can never be thought it will be done by him; and why then should it be thought incredible or impossible that Sarah should have a child, though she is old? Or, is "anything hidden from the Lord" (y)? Nothing can be, not Sarah's laughter.
This site's exposition
Why did Sarah laugh
on Genesis 18:13-14
The LORD repeats her thought back to her husband, and she learns who is at the tent. Abraham had laughed at the same promise in 17:17, and the son is to be named Isaac, which is laughter. Is anything too difficult for the LORD is the question the chapter turns on. Jeremiah asks it again at 32:27.
This site's exposition
Is anything too difficult for the LORD
John Gill notes that the Hebrew word for difficult can mean too wonderful, and he gives a second reading, whether anything is hidden from the LORD, which answers Sarah's laugh. The LORD then sets the time again. Sarah will have a son in about a year.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
"Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son."
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
"Wherefore did I laugh?" Again, Our unbelief and distrust are a great offence to the God of heaven. He justly takes it ill to have the objections of sense set up in contradiction to his promise, as Luke i. Here is a question asked which is enough to answer all the cavils of flesh and blood: Is any thing too hard for the Lord?
Thus the promises of the Messiah were often repeated in the Old Testament, for the strengthening of the faith of God's people. We are slow of heart to believe, and therefore have need of line upon line to the same purport. This is that word of promise which the apostle quotes ( Rom. ix.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Is any thing too hard for the Lord? - היפלא מיהוה דבר hayippale meihovah dabar, shall a word (or thing) be wonderful from the Lord? i.e., Can any thing be too great a miracle for him to effect?
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
IS ANYTHING TOO HARD (‘HAYIPALEI’) FOR THE ETERNAL? Is anything too hard and improbable for G-d to cause to happen? This expression is similar to the verse, For all things come of Thee, and of Thine own have we given Thee. 99 I Chronicles:14.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
This is the explanation of Sarah’s words, after I am waxed old. 98 Verse 12 here.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֲיִפָּלֵ֥א | hayipale' | ¿ is it [too] difficult | H6381 → | |
| מֵיְהוָ֖ה | meyahweh | for Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| דָּבָ֑ר | davar | anything | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| לַמּוֹעֵ֞ד | lamoed | to the appointed time | H4150 → | 223 times |
| אָשׁ֥וּב | ʾashuv | I will return | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| אֵלֶ֛יךָ | ʾeleikha | to you | H413 → | 5510 times |
| כָּעֵ֥ת | kaet | about the time | H6256 → | 296 times |
| חַיָּ֖ה | chaiyah | living | H2416 → | 498 times |
| וּלְשָׂרָ֥ה | ulesarah | and [will belong] to Sarah | H8283 → | 38 times |
| בֵֽן׃ | ven | a son | H1121 → | 4930 times |
הֲיִפָּלֵ֥א¿ is it [too] difficult
hayipale'H6381 →
מֵיְהוָ֖הfor Yahweh
meyahwehH3068 →6520 times
דָּבָ֑רanything
davarH1697 →1440 times
לַמּוֹעֵ֞דto the appointed time
lamoedH4150 →223 times
אָשׁ֥וּבI will return
ʾashuvH7725 →1056 times
אֵלֶ֛יךָto you
ʾeleikhaH413 →5510 times
כָּעֵ֥תabout the time
kaetH6256 →296 times
חַיָּ֖הliving
chaiyahH2416 →498 times
וּלְשָׂרָ֥הand [will belong] to Sarah
ulesarahH8283 →38 times
בֵֽן׃a son
venH1121 →4930 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ephesians 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,
it leads to
- Jeremiah 32:27
“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for Me?
Reached by 4 separate paths from here.
- 2 Corinthians 9:8
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
- Romans 4:21
being fully persuaded that God was able to do what He had promised.
- Jeremiah 32:27
Through
Luke 1:37For no word from God will ever fail.”
it leads to
- Matthew 19:26
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 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!
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Mark 10:27
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Luke 18:27
But Jesus said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 19:26
Through
Matthew 19:26Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
it leads to
- Job 42:2
“I know that You can do all things and that no plan of Yours can be thwarted.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Job 42:2
Where this verse is studied
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.