Genesis 38

¹And it came to pass at that time that Judah went down from his brothers, and he turned aside to a certain Adullamite man, and his name was Hirah.

²And Judah saw there the daughter of a Canaanite man, and his name was Shua. And he took her, and came to her.

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

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

⁵And she added again and bore a son, and called his name Shelah. And it was at Chezib when she bore him.

⁶And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.

⁷And Er, Judah's firstborn, was bad in the eyes of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death.

⁸And Judah said to Onan, Go in to your brother's wife, and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up seed for your brother.

⁹And Onan knew that the seed would not be his. And it was, whenever he went in to his brother's wife, he would ruin it to the ground, so as not to give seed to his brother.

¹⁰And what he did was bad in the eyes of the Lord, and he put him to death also.

¹¹And Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, Stay as a widow in your father's house until Shelah my son grows up. For he said, Lest he too die like his brothers. And Tamar went and stayed in her father's house.

¹²And the days multiplied, and the daughter of Shua, the wife of Judah, died. And Judah was comforted, and he went up to his sheepshearers, he and his companion Hirah the Adullamite, toward Timnah.

¹³And it was told to Tamar, saying, Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his flock.

¹⁴And she took off her widow's garments from upon her, and covered herself with a shawl, and wrapped herself, and sat at the entrance of Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah, for she saw that Shelah had grown up, and she had not been given to him as a wife.

¹⁵And Judah saw her and took her for a prostitute, for she had covered her face.

¹⁶And he turned to her on the road and said, Come now, let me come in to you, for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, What will you give me, that you should come in to me?

¹⁷And he said, 'I myself will send a kid of the goats from the flock.' And she said, 'If you will give a pledge until you send it.'

¹⁸And he said, What pledge shall I give you? And she said, Your signet and your cord and your staff that is in your hand. And he gave them to her and came in to her, and she conceived by him.

¹⁹And she arose and walked, and she removed her shawl from upon her, and she put on her widow's garments.

²⁰And Judah sent the young goat by the hand of his friend the Adullamite to take the pledge from the woman's hand, and he did not find her.

²¹And he asked the men of her place, saying, 'Where is the cult woman who was by the road at Enaim?' And they said, 'There has been no cult woman here.'

²²And he returned to Judah, and he said, "I did not find her, and also the men of the place said, 'There was no cult prostitute here.'"

²³And Judah said, 'Let her keep the things for herself, lest we become contemptible. Look, I sent this kid, and you did not find her.'

²⁴And it came to pass, about three months later, that Judah was told, saying, 'Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the harlot, and also, behold, she is with child by her harlotry.' And Judah said, 'Bring her out, and let her be burned.'

²⁵As she was being brought out, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, By the man to whom these belong, I am with child. And she said, Recognize, please, whose signet ring and cords and staff these are.

²⁶And Judah recognized them and said, 'She is more in the right than I, because I did not give her to Shelah my son.' And he did not know her again.

²⁷And it came to pass at the time of her giving birth that, behold, twins were in her womb.

²⁸And it was when she gave birth that one put out a hand, and the midwife took it and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, This one came out first.

²⁹And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out, and she said, 'How you have broken out for yourself a breach!' And his name was called Perez.

³⁰And afterward his brother came out, the one on whose hand was the scarlet thread, and his name was called Zerah.