Genesis 38

1 And it came to pass at that time that Judas went down from his brethren, and came as far as to a certain man of Odollam, whose name was Iras.

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

2 And Judas saw there the daughter of a Chananitish man, whose name was Sava; and he took her, and went in to her.

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

3 And she conceived and bore a son, and called his name, Er.

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

4 And she conceived and bore a son again; and called his name, Aunan.

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

5 And she again bore a son; and called his name, Selom: and she was in Chasbi when she bore them.

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

6 And Judas took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Thamar.

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

7 And Er, the firstborn of Judas, was wicked before the Lord; and God killed him.

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

8 And Judas said to Aunan, Go in to your brother's wife, and marry her as her brother-in-law, and raise up seed to your brother.

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.”

9 And Aunan, knowing that the seed should not be his—it came to pass when he went in to his brother's wife, that he spilled [it] upon the ground, so that he should not give seed to his brother's wife.

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.

10 And his doing this appeared evil before God; and he killed him also.

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

11 And Judas said to Thamar, his daughter-in-law, Sit you a widow in the house of your father-in-law, until Selom my son be grown; for he said, lest he also die as his brethren; and Thamar departed, and sat in the house of her father.

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.

12 And the days were fulfilled, and Sava the wife of Judas died; and Judas, being comforted, went to them that sheared his sheep, himself and Iras his Shepherd the Odollamite, to Thamna.

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.

13 And it was told Thamar his daughter-in-law, saying, Behold, your father-in-law goes up to Thamna, to shear his sheep.

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

14 And having taken off the garments of her widowhood from her, she put on a veil, and ornamented her face, and sat by the gates of Aenan, which is in the way to Thamna, for she saw that Selom was grown; but he gave her not to him for a wife.

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.

15 And when Judas saw her, he thought her to be a harlot; for she covered her face, and he knew her not.

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

16 And he went out of his way to her, and said to her, Let me come in to you; for he knew not that she was his daughter-in-law; and she said, What will you give me if you should come in to me?

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.

17 And he said, I will send you a kid of the goats from my flock; and she said, [Well], if you will give me an earnest, until you send it.

“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.”

18 And he said, What is the earnest that I shall give you? and she said, Your ring, and your bracelet, and the staff in your hand; and he gave them to her, and went in to her, and she conceived by him.

“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.

19 And she arose and departed, and took her veil from off her, and put on the garments of her widowhood.

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

20 And Judas sent the kid of the goats by the hand of his shepherd the Odollamite, to receive the pledge from the woman; and he found her not.

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.

21 And he asked the men of the place, Where is the harlot who was in Aenan by the wayside? and they said, There was no harlot here.

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.

22 And he returned to Judas, and said, I have not found her; and the men of the place say, There is no harlot here.

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.’”

23 And Judas said, Let her have them, but let us not be ridiculed; I sent this kid, but you have not found her.

“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.”

24 And it came to pass after three months, that it was told Judas, saying, Thamar your daughter-in-law has grievously played the harlot, and behold she is with child by whoredom; and Judas said, Bring her out, and let her be burnt.

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!”

25 And as they were bringing her, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, I am with child by the man whose these things are; and she said, See whose is this ring and bracelet and staff.

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?”

26 And Judas knew [them], and said, Thamar is cleared rather than I, forasmuch as I gave her not to Selom my son: and he knew her not again.

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.

27 And it came to pass when she was in labour, that she also had twins in her womb.

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

28 And it came to pass as she was bringing forth, one thrust forth his hand, and the midwife having taken hold of it, bound upon his hand a scarlet [thread], saying, This one shall come out first.

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.

29 And when he drew back his hand, then immediately came forth his brother; and she said, Why has the barrier been cut through because of you? and she called his name, Phares.

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

30 And after this came forth his brother, on whose hand was the scarlet thread; and she called his name, Zara.

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