Genesis 38
1 eo tempore descendens Iudas a fratribus suis divertit ad virum odollamitem nomine Hiram
About that time, Judah left his brothers and settled near a man named Hirah, an Adullamite.
2 viditque ibi filiam hominis chananei vocabulo Suae et uxore accepta ingressus est ad eam
There Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua, and he took her as a wife and slept with her.
3 quae concepit et peperit filium vocavitque nomen eius Her
So she conceived and gave birth to a son, and Judah named him Er.
4 rursum concepto fetu natum filium nominavit Onam
Again she conceived and gave birth to a son, and she named him Onan.
5 tertium quoque peperit quem appellavit Sela quo nato parere ultra cessavit
Then she gave birth to another son and named him Shelah; it was at Chezib that she gave birth to him.
6 dedit autem Iudas uxorem primogenito suo Her nomine Thamar
Now Judah acquired a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.
7 fuitque Her primogenitus Iudae nequam in conspectu Domini et ab eo occisus est
But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; so the LORD put him to death.
8 dixit ergo Iudas ad Onam filium suum ingredere ad uxorem fratris tui et sociare illi ut suscites semen fratri tuo
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 ille sciens non sibi nasci filios introiens ad uxorem fratris sui semen fundebat in terram ne liberi fratris nomine nascerentur
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 et idcirco percussit eum Dominus quod rem detestabilem faceret
What he did was wicked in the sight of the LORD, so He put Onan to death as well.
11 quam ob rem dixit Iudas Thamar nurui suae esto vidua in domo patris tui donec crescat Sela filius meus timebat enim ne et ipse moreretur sicut fratres eius quae abiit et habitavit in domo patris sui
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 evolutis autem multis diebus mortua est filia Suae uxor Iudae qui post luctum consolatione suscepta ascendebat ad tonsores ovium suarum ipse et Hiras opilio gregis Odollamita in Thamnas
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 nuntiatumque est Thamar quod socer illius ascenderet in Thamnas ad tondendas oves
When Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,”
14 quae depositis viduitatis vestibus adsumpsit theristrum et mutato habitu sedit in bivio itineris quod ducit Thamnam eo quod crevisset Sela et non eum accepisset maritum
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 quam cum vidisset Iudas suspicatus est esse meretricem operuerat enim vultum suum ne cognosceretur
When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute because she had covered her face.
16 ingrediensque ad eam ait dimitte me ut coeam tecum nesciebat enim quod nurus sua esset qua respondente quid mihi dabis ut fruaris concubitu meo
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 dixit mittam tibi hedum de gregibus rursum illa dicente patiar quod vis si dederis mihi arrabonem donec mittas quod polliceris
“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 ait Iudas quid vis tibi pro arrabone dari respondit anulum tuum et armillam et baculum quem manu tenes ad unum igitur coitum concepit mulier
“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 et surgens abiit depositoque habitu quem adsumpserat induta est viduitatis vestibus
Then Tamar got up and departed. And she removed her veil and put on her widow’s garments again.
20 misit autem Iudas hedum per pastorem suum Odollamitem ut reciperet pignus quod dederat mulieri qui cum non invenisset eam
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 interrogavit homines loci illius ubi est mulier quae sedebat in bivio respondentibus cunctis non fuit in loco isto meretrix
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 reversus est ad Iudam et dixit ei non inveni eam sed et homines loci illius dixerunt mihi numquam ibi sedisse scortum
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 ait Iudas habeat sibi certe mendacii nos arguere non poterit ego misi hedum quem promiseram et tu non invenisti eam
“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 ecce autem post tres menses nuntiaverunt Iudae dicentes fornicata est Thamar nurus tua et videtur uterus illius intumescere dixit Iudas producite eam ut conburatur
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 quae cum educeretur ad poenam misit ad socerum suum dicens de viro cuius haec sunt concepi cognosce cuius sit anulus et armilla et baculus
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 qui agnitis muneribus ait iustior me est quia non tradidi eam Sela filio meo attamen ultra non cognovit illam
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 instante autem partu apparuerunt gemini in utero atque in ipsa effusione infantum unus protulit manum in qua obsetrix ligavit coccinum dicens
When the time came for Tamar to give birth, there were twins in her womb.
28 iste egreditur prior
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 illo vero retrahente manum egressus est alter dixitque mulier quare divisa est propter te maceria et ob hanc causam vocavit nomen eius 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 postea egressus est frater in cuius manu erat coccinum quem appellavit Zara
Then his brother came out with the scarlet thread around his wrist, and he was named Zerah.
