Genesis 38

1 It happened at that time that Judah moved away from his brothers and stayed with an Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.

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 whose name was Shua. And he married her 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 She conceived and gave birth to a son, and he named him Er.

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

4 She conceived again 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. And he was at Kezib when 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 And Judah got 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 Now Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of YHWH, so God killed him.

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 and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her, 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 wouldn't be his. So it happened when he slept with his brother's wife that he released his semen 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 And what he did was evil in the sight of God, so he killed him also.

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, "Remain a widow in your father's house until my son Shelah is grown up." For he thought, "I do not want him to die too, like his brothers." So Tamar went and lived 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 some time, Judah's wife, the daughter of Shua, died. And Judah finished mourning, and went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.

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 And Tamar was told, saying, "Look, 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 took off her widow's clothes and covered herself with a veil, and wrapped herself, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah was grown up, and 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 that 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 He went over to her by the road and said, "Please come, let me sleep with you," for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, "What will you give me for sleeping with you?"

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 He said, "I will send you a young goat from the flock." She said, "Will you give me something as a guarantee 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 He said, "What kind of guarantee should I give you?" She replied, "Your signet and your cord and your staff that is 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 And she got up and left, and took off her veil, and put on her widow's clothing.

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

20 Judah sent the young goat by his friend, the Adullamite, to receive the guarantee back from the woman's hand, but he did 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 Then he asked the men of the place, saying, "Where is the prostitute that was at Enaim by the road?" They said, "There has been no prostitute here."

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 He returned to Judah, and said, "I haven't found her; and also the men of the place said, 'There has been no prostitute 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 Judah said, "Let her keep the things, lest we be publicly shamed. Look, I sent this young goat, but you did 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 Now it happened about three months later that Judah was told, saying, "Tamar, your daughter-in-law, has turned to prostitution, and now, look, she is pregnant by prostitution." Judah said, "Bring her out, and let her be burned."

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 When she was brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, saying, "By the man who owns these I am pregnant." She also said, "Please discern whose these are—the signet, and the cord, and the staff."

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 Then Judah recognized them, and said, "She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah." He did not sleep 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 It happened when it was time for her to give birth, that look, 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 As she was in labor, one put out a hand, and the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his hand, saying, "This one came out first."

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 It happened, as he drew back his hand, that look, his brother came out, and she said, "How did you break through?" 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 Afterward his brother came out, that had the scarlet thread on his hand, so he was named Zerah.

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