Genesis Chapter 38

1 And it happened at that time that Judah went down, away from his brothers, and turned aside to a man of Adullam named Hirah.

2 And Judah saw there a daughter of a Canaanite man named Shuah. And he took her, and went in to her.

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

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

Genesis Chapter 38

5 And she continued still and bore a son. And she called his name Shelah. And he was at Chezib when she bore him.

6 And Judah took a wife for his first-born, Er, and her name, Tamar.

7 And Er, Judah's first-born, was evil in the eyes of Jehovah. And Jehovah killed him.

8 And Judah said to Onan, Go in to your brother's wife and marry her, and raise up seed to your brother.

Genesis Chapter 38

9 And Onan knew that the seed would not be his. And it happened when he went in to his brother's wife, he wasted his semen to the ground, not giving seed to his brother.

10 And what he did was evil in the eyes of Jehovah, and He also killed him.

11 And Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, Live as a widow in your father's house until my son Shelah is grown. For he said, Lest he also die like his brothers. And Tamar went and lived in her father's house.

Genesis Chapter 38

12 And the days were many, and the wife of Judah, the daughter of Shuah, died. And Judah was comforted, and he went up to the shearers of his flocks, he and his friend Hirah of Adullam, to Timnah.

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

14 And she took off her widow's robes from her, and veiled herself with a veil, and disguised herself. And she sat at the entrance of Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah had grown up, and she had not been given to him for a wife.

Genesis Chapter 38

15 And Judah saw her. And he thought her to be a harlot, because she had veiled her face.

16 And he turned aside to her by the roadway, 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 may come in to me?

17 And he said, I will send a kid of the goats from the flock. And she said, Will you give me a pledge until you send it?

Genesis Chapter 38

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

19 And she rose up and left, and took off her veil from her face. And she put on her widow's robes.

20 And Judah sent the kid of the goats by the hand of his friend, the Adullamite, to receive the pledge from the woman's hand. And he did not find her.

Genesis Chapter 38

21 And he asked the men of her place, saying, Where is the harlot that was at Enaim, by the roadway? And they said, There was no harlot here.

22 And he returned to Judah and said, I have not found her. And also the men of the place said, There was no harlot here.

23 And Judah said, Let her take them for herself, that we not become a laughing stock. See, I sent this kid, and you did not find her.

Genesis Chapter 38

24 And after three months, it happened. It was told to Judah, saying, Your daughter-in-law Tamar has committed adultery, and also, behold, she is pregnant by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her out and let her be burned.

25 She was being brought out, and she sent to her father-in-law, saying, I am pregnant by a man to whom these belong. And she said, Note now whose are these, the signet ring, the bracelet, and the staff?

Genesis Chapter 38

26 And Judah knew and said, She is more righteous than I, because I did not give her to my son Shelah. And he never knew her again.

27 And in the time of her bearing, behold, it happened! Twins were in her womb.

28 And in her bearing, it happened that one put forth a hand, and the midwife took it and tied crimson on his hand, saying, This one came out first.

Genesis Chapter 38

29 And it happened as he withdrew his hand, behold, his brother came out. And she said, How have you broken a break for yourself? And one called his name Pharez.

30 And then his brother came out, on whose hand was the crimson. And one called his name Zarah.