Judah and Tamar (1 Chronicles 2:3–4)
1 AKJV And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brothers, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. BSB BSB: About that time, Judah left his brothers and settled near a man named Hirah, an Adullamite.
2 AKJV And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah; and he took her, and went in to her. BSB BSB: There Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua, and he took her as a wife and slept with her.
3 AKJV And she conceived, and bore a son; and he called his name Er. BSB BSB: So she conceived and gave birth to a son, and Judah named him Er.
4 AKJV And she conceived again, and bore a son; and she called his name Onan. BSB BSB: Again she conceived and gave birth to a son, and she named him Onan.
5 AKJV And she yet again conceived, and bore a son; and called his name Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bore him. BSB BSB: Then she gave birth to another son and named him Shelah; it was at Chezib that she gave birth to him.
6 AKJV And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar. BSB BSB: Now Judah acquired a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.
7 AKJV And Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him. BSB BSB: But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; so the LORD put him to death.
8 AKJV And Judah said to Onan, Go in to your brother’s wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to your brother. BSB BSB: 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 AKJV And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother’s wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother. BSB BSB: 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 AKJV And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: why he slew him also. BSB BSB: What he did was wicked in the sight of the LORD, so He put Onan to death as well.
11 AKJV Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at your father’s house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brothers did. And Tamar went and dwelled in her father’s house. BSB BSB: 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 AKJV And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah’s wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up to his sheep shearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. BSB BSB: 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 AKJV And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold your father in law goes up to Timnath to shear his sheep. BSB BSB: When Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,”
14 AKJV And she put her widow’s garments off from her, and covered her with a veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given to him to wife. BSB BSB: 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 AKJV When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face. BSB BSB: When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute because she had covered her face.
16 AKJV And he turned to her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray you, let me come in to you; (for he knew not that she was his daughter in law.) And she said, What will you give me, that you may come in to me? BSB BSB: 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 AKJV And he said, I will send you a kid from the flock. And she said, Will you give me a pledge, till you send it? BSB BSB: “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 AKJV And he said, What pledge shall I give you? And she said, Your signet, and your bracelets, and your staff that is in your hand. And he gave it her, and came in to her, and she conceived by him. BSB BSB: “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 AKJV And she arose, and went away, and laid by her veil from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood. BSB BSB: Then Tamar got up and departed. And she removed her veil and put on her widow’s garments again.
20 AKJV And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman’s hand: but he found her not. BSB BSB: 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 AKJV Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, that was openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this place. BSB BSB: 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 AKJV And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her; and also the men of the place said, that there was no harlot in this place. BSB BSB: 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 AKJV And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and you have not found her. BSB BSB: “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 AKJV And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar your daughter in law has played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by prostitution. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt. BSB BSB: 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 AKJV When she was brought forth, she sent to her father in law, saying, By the man, whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray you, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff. BSB BSB: 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 AKJV And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She has been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more. BSB BSB: 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.
The Birth of Perez and Zerah 27 AKJV And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb. BSB BSB: When the time came for Tamar to give birth, there were twins in her womb.
28 AKJV And it came to pass, when she travailed, that the one put out his hand: and the midwife took and bound on his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first. BSB BSB: 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 AKJV And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, How have you broken forth? this breach be on you: therefore his name was called Pharez. BSB BSB: 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 AKJV And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread on his hand: and his name was called Zarah. BSB BSB: Then his brother came out with the scarlet thread around his wrist, and he was named Zerah.