Judah and Tamar (1 Chronicles 2:3–4)
1 ULT And it happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and settled near an Adullamite man, and his name{ was} Hirah. BSB BSB: About that time, Judah left his brothers and settled near a man named Hirah, an Adullamite.
2 ULT And there Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite man, and his name{ was} Shua, and he took her. Then he went 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 ULT 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 ULT Then 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 ULT And she added yet and bore a son, and she called his name Shelah. And he was in 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 ULT Then 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 ULT But Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in the eyes of Yahweh, so Yahweh killed him. BSB BSB: But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; so the LORD put him to death.
8 ULT Then Judah said to Onan,“Go to the wife of your brother and perform your duty to her and produce offspring for 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 ULT However, Onan knew that the offspring would not be his, so it happened when he went to the wife of his brother, then he spilled{ it} on the ground so that he would not give offspring 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 ULT And what he did was evil in the eyes of Yahweh, so he killed him also. BSB BSB: What he did was wicked in the sight of the LORD, so He put Onan to death as well.
11 ULT Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter- in- law,“Remain a widow in the house of your father until Shelah my son grows up.” For he said,“So that he does not also die like his brothers!” So Tamar went and lived in the house of her father. 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 ULT Then the days were many, and Shua’ s daughter, the wife of Judah, died. Then Judah was comforted, and he went up to Timnah, to{ the men} who were shearing his sheep, 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 ULT And it was told to Tamar, saying,“Behold, your 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 ULT So she took off her widow’ s clothes from her and covered herself with a veil and wrapped herself. Then she sat at the entrance of Enaim, which{ is} on the road to Timnah, because she saw that Shelah had grown up, but she had not been given to him as a 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 ULT Then Judah saw her, and he thought she was a prostitute 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 ULT So he turned to her beside the road and said,“Please come, let me come to you,” because he did not know that she{ was} his daughter- in- law. And she said,“What will you give to me if you will come 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 ULT And he said,“I will send a kid goat from the flock.” And she said,“If you will give a pledge until 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 ULT Then he said,“What{ is} the pledge that I should give to you?” And she said,“Your signet and your cord and your staff that{ is} in your hand.” So he gave{ them} to her and went 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 ULT Then she got up and left, and she took off her veil from her and put on her widow’ s clothes. BSB BSB: Then Tamar got up and departed. And she removed her veil and put on her widow’s garments again.
20 ULT Then Judah sent the kid goat by the hand of his friend the Adullamite to get back the pledge from the hand of the woman, but he did not find her. 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 ULT So he asked the men of her place, saying,“Where{ is} the temple prostitute who{ was} at Enaim beside the road?” But they said,“There has not been a temple prostitute 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 ULT So he returned to Judah and said,“I did not find her. And also, the men of the place said,‘There has not been a temple prostitute 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 ULT And Judah said,“Let her take{ the things} for herself so that we do not become a laughingstock. Behold, I sent this kid, but you did not find 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 ULT And it happened about three months later that it was told to Judah, saying,“Tamar your daughter- in- law has prostituted herself, and also, behold,{ she is} pregnant by her prostitutions!” So Judah said,“Bring her out, and let her 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 ULT She was being brought out, and she sent{ a message} to her father- in- law, saying,“By the man whom these things belong to, I{ am} pregnant.” Then she said,“Please identify whose signet and cords and staff these{ are}.” 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 ULT And Judah identified{ the things} and said,“She is more righteous than I{ am}, because I did not give her to Shelah my son!” And he did not continue to know her 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 ULT Then it happened when{ it was} time for her to give birth, then behold, twins{ were} inside her womb! BSB BSB: When the time came for Tamar to give birth, there were twins in her womb.
28 ULT And it happened, as she was giving birth, then{ one} put out a hand, and the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied{ it} on his hand, saying,“This{ one} 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 ULT But it happened, when he drew his hand back in, then behold, his brother came out. Then she said,“How have you breached for yourself a breach?” So he called his name Perez. 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 ULT And afterwards, his brother came out, who{ had} the scarlet thread on his hand, and he called his name Zerah. BSB BSB: Then his brother came out with the scarlet thread around his wrist, and he was named Zerah.