Genesis 38
1 Yn the same tyme Judas yede doun fro his britheren, and turnede to a man of Odolla, Hiram bi name;
At that time, Judah left his older and younger brothers and went down from the hilly area and stayed with a man whose name was Hiram, who lived in Adullam [town].
2 and he siy ther a douytir of a man of Canaan, Sue bi name. And whanne he hadde takun hir to wijf,
There he (met/became acquainted with) a woman who was the daughter of a man from Canaan named Shua. He married her. He had sex [EUP] with her,
3 he entride to hir, and sche conseyuede, and childide a sone, and clepide his name Her.
and she became pregnant and later gave birth to a son, whom he named Er.
4 And eft whanne a child was conseyued, sche nemyde the child borun Onam.
Later she became pregnant again and gave birth to another son whom she named Onan.
5 And sche childide the thridde sone, whom sche clepide Cela, and whanne he was borun, sche ceesside to bere child more.
Many years later, when Judah and his family went to live in Kezib [town], Judah’s wife gave birth to another son, whom she named Shelah.
6 Forsothe Judas yaf a wijf, `Thamar bi name, to his firste gendrid sone Her.
When Judah’s oldest son Er [grew up], Judah got a wife for him, a woman named Tamar.
7 And Her, the firste gendrid sone of Judas, was weiward in the siyt of the Lord, and therfor he was slayn of the Lord.
But Er did something that Yahweh considered to be very wicked, so Yahweh caused him to die.
8 Therfor Judas seide to Onam, his sone, Entre thou to the wijf of thi brothir, and be thou felouschipid to hir, that thou reise seed to thi brothir.
Then Judah said to Onan, “Your older brother died without having any sons. So marry his widow and have sex [EUP] with her. That is what our customs require that you should do.”
9 And he wiste that sones schulden not be borun to him, `and he entride to the wijf of his brother, and schedde seed in to the erthe, lest the fre children schulden be borun bi the name of the brother;
But Onan knew if he did that, any children who would be born would not be considered to be his. So every time he had sex [EUP] with his brother’s widow, he spilled his semen on the ground, so that she would not get pregnant and produce children for his older brother.
10 and therfor the Lord smoot hym, for he dide abhomynable thing.
Yahweh considered that what he did was wicked, so he caused him to die also.
11 Wherfor Judas seide to Thamar, `wijf of his sone, Be thou widewe in the hous of thi fadir, til Sela my sone wexe, for he dredde lest also he schulde die as hise britheren. And sche yede, and dwellide in the hous of hir fadir.
Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Return to your father’s house, but do not marry anyone else. When my youngest son Shelah grows up, [he can marry you].” But Judah [really did not want Shelah to marry her, because] he was afraid that then Shelah would die too, just as his older brothers had died. So Tamar [obeyed Judah and] went back to live in her father’s house again.
12 Forsothe whanne many yeeris weren passid, the douyter of Sue, `the wijf of Juda, diede, and whanne coumfort was takun aftir morenyng, he stiede to the schereris of hise scheep, he and Iras of Odolla, that was kepere of the floc, stieden in to Thampnas.
Several years later, Judah’s wife, who was the daughter of Shua, died. When the time of mourning for her was finished, Judah decided to go up to Timnah, to the place where his (men were shearing his sheep/sheep were being sheared) His friend Hiram, from Adullam, went with him.
13 And it was teld to Thamar, that `the fadir of hir hosebonde stiede to Thampnas, to schere scheep.
Someone said to Tamar, “Your father-in-law is going to [the fields near the city of] Timnah to help the men who are shearing his sheep.”
14 And sche dide awei the clothis of widewehod, and sche took a roket, and whanne the clothinge was chaungid, sche sat in the weilot that ledith to Tampna; for Sela hadde woxe, and sche hadde not take hym to hosebonde.
[She realized that now Shelah was grown up, but Judah had not given her to him to be his wife. So] she took off her widow’s clothes, and covered her head with a veil, so that people would not (recognize her/know who she was). Then she sat down at the entrance to Enaim [town], which is on the road to Timnah.
15 And whanne Judas hadde seyn hir, he supposide hir to be an hoore, for sche hadde hilid hir face, lest sche were knowun.
When Judah came along and saw her, he thought that she was a prostitute, because she had covered her head [like prostitutes often did] (OR, [and sat where prostitutes often sat)].
16 And Judas entride to hir, and seide, Suffre me that Y ligge with thee; for he wiste not that sche was the wijf of his sone. And whanne sche answeride, What schalt thou yyue to me, that thou ligge bi me?
Judah did not realize that she was his daughter-in-law. So he said to her, “Hey, let me have sex [EUP] with you!” She replied, “What will you give me for allowing you to have sex [EUP] with me?”
17 he seide, Y schal sende to thee a kide of the flockis. And eft whanne sche seide, Y schal suffre that that thou wolt, if thou schalt yyue to me a wed, til thou sendist that that thou bihetist.
He replied, “I will send you a young goat from my flock of goats.” She asked, “Will you give me something now for me to keep until you send the goat?”
18 Judas seide, What wolt thou that be youun to thee for a wed? She answeride, Thi ryng, and thi bie of the arm, and the staaf which thou holdist in the hond. Therfor the womman conseyuide at o liggyng bi, and sche roos, and yede;
He replied, “What do you want me to give to you?” She replied, “Give me the ring that has your name on it that is tied by a cord around your neck, and give me the walking stick that you are holding in your hand.” So he gave them to her. Then he had sex [EUP] with her, and she became pregnant.
19 and whanne the clooth was `put awei which sche hadde take, sche was clothid in the clothis of widewhod.
After she left, she took off the veil and put her widow’s clothes on again.
20 Forsothe Judas sente a kide bi his scheepherde of Odolla, that he schulde resseyue the wed which he hadde youe to the womman; and whanne he hadde not founde hir,
Judah gave a young goat to his friend from Adullam, for him to take back to the woman, as he had promised. But his friend could not find the woman.
21 he axide men of that place, Where is the womman that sat in the weie lot? And whanne alle men answeriden, An hoore was not in this place; he turnede ayen to Judas,
So he asked the men who lived there, “Where is the prostitute who was sitting by the road at Enaim?” They replied, “There has never been a prostitute here!”
22 and seide to hym, Y foond not hir, but also men of that place seiden to me, that an hoore sat neuere there.
So he went back to Judah and said, “I did not find her. [Furthermore], the men who live in that town said, ‘There has never been a prostitute here.’”
23 Judas seide, Haue sche to hir silf, certis sche may not repreue vs of a leesyng; Y sente the kyde which Y bihiyte, and thou foundist not hir.
Judah said, “She can keep the things that I gave to her. If we continued to search for her, people would ridicule us. I tried to send this young goat to her, but you could not find her to give it to her.”
24 Lo! sotheli aftir thre monethis thei telden to Judas, and seiden, Thamar, `wijf of thi sone, hath do fornycacioun, and hir womb semeth to wexe greet. Judas seide, Brynge ye hir forth, that sche be brent.
About three months later, someone told Judah, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has become a prostitute and now she is pregnant!” Judah said, “Drag her outside of the city and kill her by burning her!”
25 And whanne sche was led to peyne, sche sente to `the fadir of hir hosebonde, and seide, Y haue conseyued of the man, whose these thingis ben; knowe thou whose is the ryng, and bie of the arm, and staf?
But as they were taking her outside of the city, she gave the ring and walking stick to someone, and told him to take them to Judah, and say to him, “The man who owns these things is the one who caused me to become pregnant.” She also said to tell him, “Look at this ring, and the cord that is attached to it, and this walking stick. Whose are they?”
26 And whanne the yiftis weren knowun, he seide, Sche is more iust than Y, for Y yaf not hir to Sela, my sone; netheles Judas knewe hir no more fleischli.
When the man did that, Judah recognized the ring and the stick. He said, “She is more righteous than I am. I did not tell my son Shelah to marry her, as I promised that I would.” And Judah did not have sex [EUP] with her again.
27 Sotheli whanne the childberyng neiyede, twei chyldren apperiden in the wombe, and in that birthe of children, oon brouyte forth the hond, in which the mydwijf boond a reed threed,
When it was time for her to give birth, [she was surprised that] there were twin boys in her womb.
28 and seide, This schal go out `the formere.
As she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand. So the midwife fastened a scarlet thread around his wrist, saying, “This one came out first.”
29 Sotheli while he withdrowe the hond, the tother yede out, and the womman seide, Whi was the skyn in which the child lay in the wombe departid for thee? And for this cause sche clepide his name Fares.
But he pulled his hand back inside the womb, and his brother came out first. So she said, “So this is how you break your way out first!” So she named him Perez, [which sounds like the Hebrew word that means ‘breaking out].’
30 Afterward his brothir yede out, in whos hond was the reed threed, whom sche clepide Zaram.
Then his younger brother, the one who had the scarlet thread around his wrist, came out. And he was named Zerah, [which sounds like the Hebrew word that means ‘redness of dawn].’
