| English Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 1It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and turned aside to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. | 1At that time Judah left his brothers and stayed with an Adullamite man named Hirah. |
| 2There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua. He took her and went in to her, | 2There Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua. Judah acquired her as a wife and had marital relations with her. |
| 3and she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er. | 3She became pregnant and had a son. Judah named him Er. |
| 4She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan. | 4She became pregnant again and had another son, whom she named Onan. |
| 5Yet again she bore a son, and she called his name Shelah. Judah was in Chezib when she bore him. | 5Then she had yet another son, whom she named Shelah. She gave birth to him in Kezib. |
| 6And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. | 6Judah acquired a wife for Er his firstborn; her name was Tamar. |
| 7But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD put him to death. | 7But Er, Judah's firstborn, was evil in the LORD's sight, so the LORD killed him. |
| 8Then 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 offspring for your brother.” | 8Then Judah said to Onan, "Have sexual relations with your brother's wife and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her so that you may raise up a descendant for your brother." |
| 9But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his. So whenever he went in to his brother’s wife he would waste the semen on the ground, so as not to give offspring to his brother. | 9But Onan knew that the child would not be considered his. So whenever he had sexual relations with his brother's wife, he withdrew prematurely so as not to give his brother a descendant. |
| 10And what he did was wicked in the sight of the LORD, and he put him to death also. | 10What he did was evil in the LORD's sight, so the LORD killed him too. |
| 11Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house, till Shelah my son grows up”—for he feared that he would die, like his brothers. So Tamar went and remained in her father’s house. | 11Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, "Live as a widow in your father's house until Shelah my son grows up." For he thought, "I don't want him to die like his brothers." So Tamar went and lived in her father's house. |
| 12In the course of time the wife of Judah, Shua’s daughter, died. When Judah was comforted, he went up to Timnah to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. | 12After some time Judah's wife, the daughter of Shua, died. After Judah was consoled, he left for Timnah to visit his sheepshearers, along with his friend Hirah the Adullamite. |
| 13And when Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,” | 13Tamar was told, "Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep." |
| 14she took off her widow’s garments and covered herself with a veil, wrapping herself up, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she had not been given to him in marriage. | 14So she removed her widow's clothes and covered herself with a veil. She wrapped herself and sat at the entrance to Enaim which is on the way to Timnah. (She did this because she saw that she had not been given to Shelah as a wife, even though he had now grown up.) |
| 15When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. | 15When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute because she had covered her face. |
| 16He turned to her at the roadside and said, “Come, let me come in to you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?” | 16He turned aside to her along the road and said, "Come on! I want to have sex with you." (He did not realize it was his daughter-in-law.) She asked, "What will you give me in exchange for having sex with you?" |
| 17He answered, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.” And she said, “If you give me a pledge, until you send it—” | 17He replied, "I'll send you a young goat from the flock." She asked, "Will you give me a pledge until you send it?" |
| 18He said, “What pledge shall I give you?” She replied, “Your signet and your cord and your staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she conceived by him. | 18He said, "What pledge should I give you?" She replied, "Your seal, your cord, and the staff that's in your hand." So he gave them to her and had sex with her. She became pregnant by him. |
| 19Then she arose and went away, and taking off her veil she put on the garments of her widowhood. | 19She left immediately, removed her veil, and put on her widow's clothes. |
| 20When Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite to take back the pledge from the woman’s hand, he did not find her. | 20Then Judah had his friend Hirah the Adullamite take a young goat to get back from the woman the items he had given in pledge, but Hirah could not find her. |
| 21And he asked the men of the place, “Where is the cult prostitute who was at Enaim at the roadside?” And they said, “No cult prostitute has been here.” | 21He asked the men who were there, "Where is the cult prostitute who was at Enaim by the road?" But they replied, "There has been no cult prostitute here." |
| 22So he returned to Judah and said, “I have not found her. Also, the men of the place said, ‘No cult prostitute has been here.’” | 22So he returned to Judah and said, "I couldn't find her. Moreover, the men of the place said, 'There has been no cult prostitute here.'" |
| 23And Judah replied, “Let her keep the things as her own, or we shall be laughed at. You see, I sent this young goat, and you did not find her.” | 23Judah said, "Let her keep the things for herself. Otherwise we will appear to be dishonest. I did indeed send this young goat, but you couldn't find her." |
| 24About three months later Judah was told, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has been immoral. Moreover, she is pregnant by immorality.” And Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.” | 24After three months Judah was told, "Your daughter-in-law Tamar has turned to prostitution, and as a result she has become pregnant." Judah said, "Bring her out and let her be burned!" |
| 25As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, “By the man to whom these belong, I am pregnant.” And she said, “Please identify whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff.” | 25While they were bringing her out, she sent word to her father-in-law: "I am pregnant by the man to whom these belong." Then she said, "Identify the one to whom the seal, cord, and staff belong." |
| 26Then Judah identified them and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not know her again. | 26Judah recognized them and said, "She is more upright than I am, because I wouldn't give her to Shelah my son." He did not have sexual relations with her again. |
| 27When the time of her labor came, there were twins in her womb. | 27When it was time for her to give birth, there were twins in her womb. |
| 28And when she was in labor, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” | 28While she was giving birth, one child put out his hand, and the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his hand, saying, "This one came out first." |
| 29But as he drew back his hand, behold, his brother came out. And she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” Therefore his name was called Perez. | 29But then he drew back his hand, and his brother came out before him. She said, "How you have broken out of the womb!" So he was named Perez. |
| 30Afterward his brother came out with the scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was called Zerah. | 30Afterward his brother came out--the one who had the scarlet thread on his hand--and he was named Zerah. |
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