38:1 At that time¹ Judah went down from his brothers and turned in to stay² with certain³ Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. 38:2 And there Judah saw the daughter of a certain⁴ Canaanite, whose name was Shua; and he took her as a wife,⁵ and went in to her. 38:3 And she conceived⁶ and bore a son; and he called⁷ his name Er. 38:4 And she conceived⁸ again and bore a son; and she called his name Onan. 38:5 And she again bore⁹ another son, and she called his name Shelah. And it was in Kezib that she bore him.¹⁰

38:6 Judah took¹¹ a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. 38:7 But Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in the sight of the LORD, so the LORD put him to death.

38:8 And Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her so that you may raise¹² up a descendant for your brother.” 38:9 But Onan knew that the child¹³ would not be considered his;¹⁴ so whenever¹⁵ he went in to the wife of his brother, he spilled his seed¹⁶ on the ground, so as not to give his brother a descendant. 38:10 And what he did was evil in the sight of the LORD, so he put him to death also.

38:11 Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Live as a widow in the house of your father until Shelah my son grows up.” For he thought,¹⁷ “Lest he die also like his brothers.”¹⁸ So Tamar went and lived in the house of her father.

38:12 After some time¹⁹ the daughter of Shua, Judah’s wife, died. After²⁰ Judah was consoled, he went up to Timnah to his sheep-shearers, he and Hirah his friend, the Adullamite. 38:13 And Tamar was told,²¹ “Look, your father in law is going up²² to Timnah to shear his sheep.” 38:14 So she removed from her the widow’s clothes, and covered herself with a veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the entrance to Enayim, which is on the way to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah had grown up but she was not given to him for a wife.

38:15 And Judah saw her and thought she was a prostitute,²³ for she had covered her face. 38:16 And he turned in to her on the way, and said, “Come, now, let me come in to you,”²⁴ for he did not know that it was his daughter-in-law. And she said, “What will you give me that you may come in to me?” 38:17 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?”²⁵ 38:18 And he said, “What is the pledge that I may give you?” And she said, “Your seal and your cord and your staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them²⁶ to her and went in to her; and she conceived²⁷ by him. 38:19 And she left immediately,²⁸ and removed her veil from her, and put on the widow’s clothes.

38:20 Then Judah sent a kid of the goats by his friend²⁹ the Adullamite to retrieve his seal from the woman, but he could not find her.³⁰ 38:21 He asked³¹ the men of her place,³² saying, “Where is the cult prostitute³³ who was in Enayim by the road?” But they said, “There has been no cult prostitute here.” 38:22 So he returned to Judah and said, “I could not find her; moreover, the men of the place said, `There has been no cult prostitute here’.” 38:23 And Judah said, “Let her keep the things³⁴ for herself, lest we appear contemptible;³⁵ I did indeed send this kid, but you could not find her.”

38:24 And after three months it was told to Judah,³⁶ saying, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the prostitute,³⁷ and now she is pregnant by her prostitution.” And Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned.”

38:25 When she was brought out, she sent word³⁸ to her father-in-law, saying, “I am pregnant by the man to whom these belong.”³⁹ Then she said, “Identify⁴⁰ the one whose seal and cord and staff these are.” 38:26 And Judah identified them,⁴¹ and said, “She is more righteous⁴² than I, for I would not give her to Shelah my son.” And he was not intimate⁴³ with her again.⁴⁴

38:27 When it was time to give birth, there were twins in her womb. 38:28 And when she was giving birth, one child⁴⁵ put out his hand; and the midwife took a scarlet threat and tied it on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” 38:29 But when he drew back his hand, his brother came out; and she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!”⁴⁶ So his name was called Perez. 38:30 And afterward his brother came out, who had the scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was called Zerah.⁴⁷