Genesis 38

1 And it cometh to pass, at that time, that Judah goeth down from his brethren, and turneth aside unto a man, an Adullamite, whose name [is] Hirah;

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

2 and Judah seeth there the daughter of a man, a Canaanite, whose name [is] Shuah, and taketh her, and goeth in unto 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 conceiveth, and beareth a son, and he calleth his name Er;

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

4 and she conceiveth again, and beareth a son, and calleth his name Onan;

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

5 and she addeth again, and beareth a son, and calleth his name Shelah; and he was in Chezib in her bearing him.

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

6 And Judah taketh a wife for Er, his first-born, and her name [is] Tamar;

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

7 and Er, Judah's first-born, is evil in the eyes of Jehovah, and Jehovah doth put him to death.

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

8 And Judah saith to Onan, 'Go in unto the wife of thy brother, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy 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 Onan knoweth that the seed is not [reckoned] his; and it hath come to pass, if he hath gone in unto his brother's wife, that he hath destroyed [it] to the earth, so as not to give seed to his brother;

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 that which he hath done is evil in the eyes of Jehovah, and He putteth him also to death.

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

11 And Judah saith to Tamar his daughter-in-law, 'Abide a widow at thy father's house, till Shelah my son groweth up;' for he said, 'Lest he die — even he — like his brethren;' and Tamar goeth and dwelleth at her father's house.

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 are multiplied, and the daughter of Shuah, Judah's wife, dieth; and Judah is comforted, and goeth up unto his sheep-shearers, he and Hirah his friend the Adullamite, to Timnath.

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 is declared to Tamar, saying, 'Lo, thy husband's father is going up to Timnath to shear his flock;'

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

14 and she turneth aside the garments of her widowhood from off her, and covereth herself with a vail, and wrappeth herself up, and sitteth in the opening of Enayim, which [is] by the way to Timnath, for she hath seen that Shelah hath grown up, and she hath not been given 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 Judah seeth her, and reckoneth her for a harlot, for she hath covered her face,

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

16 and he turneth aside unto her by the way, and saith, 'Come, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee,' (for he hath not known that she [is] his daughter-in-law); and she saith, 'What dost thou give to me, that thou mayest come in unto 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 saith, 'I — I send a kid of the goats from the flock.' And she saith, 'Dost thou give a pledge till thou 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 saith, 'What [is] the pledge that I give to thee?' and she saith, 'Thy seal, and thy ribbon, and thy staff which [is] in thy hand;' and he giveth to her, and goeth in unto her, and she conceiveth to 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 riseth, and goeth, and turneth aside her vail from off her, and putteth 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 Judah sendeth the kid of the goats by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive the pledge from the hand of the woman, and he hath not found her.

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 asketh the men of her place, saying, 'Where [is] the separated one — she in Enayim, by the way?' and they say, 'There hath not been in this [place] a separated one.'

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 turneth back unto Judah, and saith, 'I have not found her; and the men of the place also have said, There hath not been in this [place] a separated one,'

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 Judah saith, 'Let her take to herself, lest we become despised; lo, I sent this kid, and thou hast 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 cometh to pass about three months [after], that it is declared to Judah, saying, 'Tamar thy daughter-in-law hath committed fornication; and also, lo, she hath conceived by fornication:' and Judah saith, 'Bring her out — and she is 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 She is brought out, and she hath sent unto her husband's father, saying, 'To a man whose these [are], I [am] pregnant;' and she saith, 'Discern, I pray thee, whose [are] these — the seal, and the ribbons, and the 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 Judah discerneth and saith, 'She hath been more righteous than I, because that I did not give her to Shelah my son;' and he hath not added to know her 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 cometh to pass in the time of her bearing, that lo, twins [are] in her womb;

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

28 and it cometh to pass in her bearing, that [one] giveth out a hand, and the midwife taketh and bindeth on his hand a scarlet thread, saying, 'This hath 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 it cometh to pass as he draweth back his hand, that lo, his brother hath come out, and she saith, 'What! thou hast broken forth — on thee [is] the breach;' and he calleth his name Pharez;

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 afterwards hath his brother come out, on whose hand [is] the scarlet thread, and he calleth his name Zarah.

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