Genesis 18:15
New International Version
Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.” But he said, “Yes, you did laugh.”

New Living Translation
Sarah was afraid, so she denied it, saying, “I didn’t laugh.” But the LORD said, “No, you did laugh.”

English Standard Version
But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”

Berean Standard Bible
But Sarah was afraid, so she denied it and said, “I did not laugh.” “No,” replied the LORD, “but you did laugh.”

King James Bible
Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.

New King James Version
But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh!”

New American Standard Bible
Sarah denied it, however, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh.”

NASB 1995
Sarah denied it however, saying, “I did not laugh"; for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh.”

NASB 1977
Sarah denied it however, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh.”

Legacy Standard Bible
Then Sarah denied it however, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh.”

Amplified Bible
Then Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh”; because she was afraid. And He (the LORD) said, “No, but you did laugh.”

Christian Standard Bible
Sarah denied it. “I did not laugh,” she said, because she was afraid. But he replied, “No, you did laugh.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Sarah denied it. “I did not laugh,” she said, because she was afraid. But He replied, “No, you did laugh.”

American Standard Version
Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And Sara denied, and she said, “I did not laugh”, because she was afraid; and he said, “No, but you did laugh.”

Brenton Septuagint Translation
But Sarrha denied, saying, I did not laugh, for she was afraid. And he said to her, Nay, but thou didst laugh.

Contemporary English Version
Sarah was so frightened that she lied and said, "I didn't laugh." "Yes, you did!" he answered.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Sara denied, saying: I did not laugh: for she was afraid. But the Lord said, Nay: but thou didst laugh:

English Revised Version
Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Because she was afraid, Sarah denied that she had laughed. But the LORD said, "Yes, you did laugh."

Good News Translation
Because Sarah was afraid, she denied it. "I didn't laugh," she said. "Yes, you did," he replied. "You laughed."

International Standard Version
But Sarah denied it. "I didn't laugh," she claimed, because she was afraid. The LORD replied, "No! You did laugh!"

JPS Tanakh 1917
Then Sarah denied, saying: 'I laughed not'; for she was afraid. And He said: 'Nay; but thou didst laugh.'

Literal Standard Version
And Sarah denies, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she has been afraid; and He says, “No, but you did laugh.”

Majority Standard Bible
But Sarah was afraid, so she denied it and said, “I did not laugh.” “No,” replied the LORD, “but you did laugh.”

New American Bible
Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. But he said, “Yes, you did.”

NET Bible
Then Sarah lied, saying, "I did not laugh," because she was afraid. But the LORD said, "No! You did laugh."

New Revised Standard Version
But Sarah denied, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. He said, “Oh yes, you did laugh.”

New Heart English Bible
But Sarah denied it, saying, "I did not laugh," for she was afraid. He said, "No, but you did laugh."

Webster's Bible Translation
Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.

World English Bible
Then Sarah denied it, saying, “I didn’t laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”

Young's Literal Translation
And Sarah denieth, saying, 'I did not laugh;' for she hath been afraid; and He saith, 'Nay, but thou didst laugh.'

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Sarah Laughs at the Promise
14Is 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.” 15But Sarah was afraid, so she denied it and said, “I did not laugh.” “No,” replied the LORD, “but you did laugh.”

Cross References
Genesis 18:14
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 18:16
When the men got up to leave, they looked out over Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them off.


Treasury of Scripture

Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, No; but you did laugh.

denied.

Genesis 4:9
And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?

Genesis 12:13
Say, 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.

Job 2:10
But 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.

Nay.

Psalm 44:21
Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.

Proverbs 12:19
The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment.

Mark 2:8
And 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?

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Genesis 18
1. The Lord appears to Abraham, who entertains angels.
9. Sarah is reproved for laughing at the promise of a son.
16. The destruction of Sodom is revealed to Abraham.
23. Abraham makes intercession for its inhabitants.














(15) Sarah denied.--With strange inconsistency Sarah knows that the speaker is Divine, and that He perceived the thoughts that passed "within herself" in the retirement of the tent, and yet denies; but it was the inconsistency of fright. Struck with terror at the thought that she had ridiculed the promise of Jehovah, she offers no excuse, but takes refuge, as frightened people are apt to do, in falsehood. Gently reproved, the result was the building-up of her faith, just as Mary's doubt was removed and her faith perfected by the angel's words (Luke 1:34-37).

Verse 15. - Then Sarah (who had overheard the conversation, and the charge preferred against her, and who probably now appeared before the stranger) denied, saying, I laughed not. Sarah s conduct will admit of no other explanation than that which the sacred narrative itself gives. For she was afraid. The knowledge that her secret thoughts had been deciphered must have kindled in her breast the suspicion that her visitor was none other than Jehovah. With this a sense of guilt would immediately assail her conscience for having cherished even a moment any doubt of the Divine word. In the consequent confusion of soul she tries what ever seems to be the first impulse of detected transgressions, viz., deception (cf. Genesis 3:12, 13). And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh. With a directness similar to that which he employed in dealing with the first culprits in the garden, not contending in a multiplicity of words, but solemnly announcing that what she said was false. The silence of Sarah was an evidence of her conviction; her subsequent conception was a proof of her repentance and forgiveness.

CHAPTER 18:16-22

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
But Sarah
שָׂרָ֧ה ׀ (śā·rāh)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 8283: Sarah -- 'princess', a wife of Abraham

denied it,
וַתְּכַחֵ֨שׁ (wat·tə·ḵa·ḥêš)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 3584: To disappoint, deceive, fail, grow lean

saying,
לֵאמֹ֛ר (lê·mōr)
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 559: To utter, say

“I did not
לֹ֥א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

laugh.”
צָחַ֖קְתִּי (ṣā·ḥaq·tî)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 6711: To laugh outright, to sport

For
כִּ֣י ׀ (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

she was afraid.
יָרֵ֑אָה (yā·rê·’āh)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 3372: To fear, to revere, caus, to frighten

“No,”
לֹ֖א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

replied [the LORD],
וַיֹּ֥אמֶר ׀ (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

“but you did
כִּ֥י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

laugh.”
צָחָֽקְתְּ׃ (ṣā·ḥā·qət)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - second person feminine singular
Strong's 6711: To laugh outright, to sport


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OT Law: Genesis 18:15 Then Sarah denied saying I didn't laugh (Gen. Ge Gn)
Genesis 18:14
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