Genesis 38

1 About that time, Judah left his brothers and settled near a man named Hirah, an Adullamite.

Now at that time, Judah went away from his brothers and became the friend of a man of Adullam named Hirah.

2 There Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua, and he took her as a wife and slept with her.

And there he saw the daughter of a certain man of Canaan named Shua, and took her as his wife.

3 So she conceived and gave birth to a son, and Judah named him Er.

And she gave birth to a son, and he gave him the name Er.

4 Again she conceived and gave birth to a son, and she named him Onan.

And again she gave birth to a son, and he gave him the name Onan.

5 Then she gave birth to another son and named him Shelah; it was at Chezib that she gave birth to him.

Then she had another son, to whom she gave the name Shelah; she was at Chezib when the birth took place.

6 Now Judah acquired a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.

And Judah took a wife for his first son Er, and her name was Tamar.

7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; so the LORD put him to death.

Now Er, Judah's first son, did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so that he put him to death.

8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife. Perform your duty as her brother-in-law and raise up offspring for your brother.”

Then Judah said to Onan, Go in to your brother's wife and do what it is right for a husband's brother to do; make her your wife and get offspring for your brother.

9 But Onan knew that the offspring would not belong to him; so whenever he would sleep with his brother’s wife, he would spill his seed on the ground so that he would not produce offspring for his brother.

But Onan, seeing that the offspring would not be his, went in to his brother's wife, but let his seed go on to the earth, so that he might not get offspring for his brother.

10 What he did was wicked in the sight of the LORD, so He put Onan to death as well.

And what he did was evil in the eyes of the Lord, so that he put him to death, like his brother.

11 Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah grows up.” For he thought, “He may die too, like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s house.

Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, Go back to your father's house and keep yourself as a widow till my son Shelah becomes a man: for he had in his mind the thought that death might come to him as it had come to his brothers. So Tamar went back to her father's house.

12 After a long time Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. When Judah had finished mourning, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah.

And after a time, Bath-shua, Judah's wife, came to her end; and after Judah was comforted for her loss, he went to Timnah, where they were cutting the wool of his sheep, and his friend Hirah of Adullam went with him.

13 When Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,”

And when Tamar had news that her father-in-law was going up to Timnah to the wool-cutting,

14 she removed her widow’s garments, covered her face with a veil to disguise herself, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah. For she saw that although Shelah had grown up, she had not been given to him as a wife.

She took off her widow's clothing, and covering herself with her veil, she took her seat near Enaim on the road to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was now a man, but she had not been made his wife.

15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute because she had covered her face.

When Judah saw her he took her to be a loose woman of the town, because her face was covered.

16 Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he went over to her and said, “Come now, let me sleep with you.” “What will you give me for sleeping with you?” she inquired.

And turning to her by the roadside, he said to her, Let me come in to you; for he had no idea that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, What will you give me as my price?

17 “I will send you a young goat from my flock,” Judah answered. But she replied, “Only if you leave me something as a pledge until you send it.”

And he said, I will give you a young goat from the flock. And she said, What will you give me as a sign till you send it?

18 “What pledge should I give you?” he asked. She answered, “Your seal and your cord, and the staff in your hand.” So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him.

And he said, What would you have? And she said, Your ring and its cord and the stick in your hand. So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she became with child by him.

19 Then Tamar got up and departed. And she removed her veil and put on her widow’s garments again.

Then she got up and went away and took off her veil and put on her widow's clothing.

20 Now when Judah sent his friend Hirah the Adullamite with the young goat to collect the items he had left with the woman, he could not find her.

Then Judah sent his friend Hirah with the young goat, to get back the things which he had given as a sign to the woman: but she was not there.

21 He asked the men of that place, “Where is the shrine prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim?” “No shrine prostitute has been here,” they answered.

And he put questions to the men of the place, saying, Where is the loose woman who was in Enaim by the wayside? And they said, There was no such woman there.

22 So Hirah returned to Judah and said, “I could not find her, and furthermore, the men of that place said, ‘No shrine prostitute has been here.’”

So he went back to Judah, and said, I have not seen her, and the men of the place say that there is no such woman there.

23 “Let her keep the items,” Judah replied. “Otherwise we will become a laughingstock. After all, I did send her this young goat, but you could not find her.”

And Judah said, Let her keep the things, so that we may not be shamed; I sent the young goat, but you did not see the woman.

24 About three months later, Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has prostituted herself, and now she is pregnant.” “Bring her out!” Judah replied. “Let her be burned to death!”

Now about three months after this, word came to Judah that Tamar, his daughter-in-law, had been acting like a loose woman and was with child. And Judah said, Take her out and let her be burned.

25 As she was being brought out, Tamar sent a message to her father-in-law: “I am pregnant by the man to whom these items belong.” And she added, “Please examine them. Whose seal and cord and staff are these?”

And while she was being taken out, she sent word to her father-in-law, saying, The man whose property these things are, is the father of my child: say then, whose are this ring and this cord and this stick?

26 Judah recognized the items and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not have relations with her again.

Then Judah said openly that they were his, and said, She is more upright than I am, for I did not give her to Shelah my son. And he had no more connection with her.

27 When the time came for Tamar to give birth, there were twins in her womb.

And when the time came for her to give birth, it was clear that there were two children in her body.

28 And as she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand; so the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it around his wrist. “This one came out first,” she announced.

And while she was in the act of giving birth, one of them put out his hand; and the woman who was with her put a red thread round his hand, saying, This one came out first.

29 But when he pulled his hand back and his brother came out, she said, “You have broken out first!” So he was named Perez.

But then he took his hand back again, and his brother came first to birth: and the woman said, What an opening you have made for yourself! So he was named Perez.

30 Then his brother came out with the scarlet thread around his wrist, and he was named Zerah.

And then his brother came out, with the red thread round his hand, and he was named Zerah.