Judah and Tamar (1 Chronicles 2:3–4)
1 DBY And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a man of Adullam whose name was Hirah. BSB BSB: About that time, Judah left his brothers and settled near a man named Hirah, an Adullamite.
2 DBY And Judah saw there the daughter of a Canaanitish man whose name was Shua; 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 DBY 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 DBY And she again conceived 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 DBY And again she bore a son, and she 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 DBY And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. BSB BSB: Now Judah acquired a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.
7 DBY And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of Jehovah, and Jehovah 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 DBY Then Judah said to Onan, Go in to thy brother's wife, and fulfil to her the brother-in-law's duty, and raise up seed to thy 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 DBY But when Onan knew that the seed should not be his own, it came to pass when he went in to his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, in order to give no 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 DBY And the thing which he did was evil in the sight of Jehovah, and 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 DBY And Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, Remain a widow in thy father's house, until Shelah my son is grown; for he said, Lest he die also, as his brethren. And Tamar went and remained 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 DBY And as the days were multiplied, Judah's wife, the daughter of Shua, died. And Judah was comforted, and he went up to his sheep-shearers, to Timnah, 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 DBY And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep. BSB BSB: When Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,”
14 DBY And she put the garments of her widowhood off from her, and covered herself with a veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the entry of Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given to him as 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 DBY And Judah saw her, and took her for a 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 DBY And he turned aside to her by the way, and said, Come, I pray thee, let me go in to thee; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest 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 DBY And he said, I will send thee a kid of the goats from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, until thou 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 DBY And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy lace, and thy staff which is in thy hand. And he gave it her, and went 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 DBY And she arose and went away; and she 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 DBY 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; 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 DBY And he asked the men of her place, saying, Where is the prostitute that was at Enaim, by the way-side? And they said, There was no prostitute here. 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 DBY And he returned to Judah, and said, I have not found her; and also the men of the place said, No prostitute has been here. 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 DBY Then Judah said, Let her take it for herself, lest we be put to shame. Behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast 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 DBY And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter-in-law has committed fornication, and behold, she is also with child by fornication. And Judah said, Bring her forth, that she may be burned. 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 DBY When she was brought forth, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, By the man to whom these belong am I with child; and she said, Acknowledge, I pray thee, whose are this signet, and this lace, and this 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 DBY And Judah acknowledged them , and said, She is more righteous than I, because I have not given her 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 DBY And it came to pass at the time of her delivery, 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 DBY And it came to pass when she brought forth, that one stretched out his hand, and the midwife took it and bound round 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 DBY And it came to pass as he drew back his hand, that behold, his brother came out; and she said, How hast thou broken forth! on thee be the breach! And they called his name Pherez. 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 DBY And afterwards came out his brother, round whose hand was the scarlet thread; and they called his name Zerah. BSB BSB: Then his brother came out with the scarlet thread around his wrist, and he was named Zerah.