Judah and Tamar
(1 Chronicles 2:3–4)

1It fortuned at the same time, yt Iuda wente downe fro his brethren, & gat him to a man called Hyra at Odollam. 2And there Iuda sawe a ma of Canaas doughter called Sua, and toke her. And whe he had lyen with her, 3she conceaued and bare a sonne, whom she called Er. 4And she conceaued agayne, & bare a sonwho she called Ona. 5She proceaded yet further, & bare a sonne, who she called Sela. And wha she had borne him, she left of bearinge.

6And Iuda gaue his first sonne Er a wife, whose name was Thamar. 7But he was wicked before the LORDE, therfore the LORDE slew him. 8Then sayde Iuda vnto his sonne Onan: Go lie with thy brothers wife, and marye thyself with her, that thou mayest rayse vp sede vnto thy brother. 9But when Onan knewe that the sede shulde not be his owne, whan he laye with his brothers wife, he let it fall vpon the earth and destroyed it, yt he shulde not geue sede vnto his brother. 10This thinge that he dyd displeased the LORDE sore, and he slewe him also. 11Then sayde Iudas vnto Thamar his sonnes wyfe. Remayne a wyddow in thy fathers house, tyll my sonne Sela be growne: for he thought: peraduenture he might dye also like as his brethren. So Thamar wente hir waye, and remained in hir fathers house.

12Now wha many dayes were past, ye doughter of Sua Iudas wife dyed. And whan Iuda had left mournynge, he wente vp vnto Thimnath to clyppe his shepe with his shepherde Hyra of Odollam. 13Then was it tolde Thamar: beholde, thy father in lawe goeth vp vnto Thimnath, to clyppe his shepe. 14Then put she of ye wyddowes garmentes that she had vpon her, couered and dysgysed hir self, & sat hir downe without the porte by the waye syde towarde Thymnath. For she sawe that Sela was growne, and she was not geuen vnto him to wife. 15Now whan Iuda sawe her, he thought it had bene an whoore, for she had couered hir face: 16and he gat him to her in the waye, and saide: I praye the let me lye with the, for he knewe not that it was his doughter in lawe. She answered: What wilt thou geue me, that thou mayest lie with me? 17He sayde: I wil sende the a kydd from the flocke. She answered: Geue me a pledge then, tyll thou sende it me. 18He sayde: What pledge wilt thou that I geue the? She answered: Thy signet, and thy bracelet, and thy staff that thou hast in thy hade. Then he gaue it her, and laye with her, and she was with childe of him. 19And she gat hir vp, and wente hir waye, and layed of hir cloke, and put on hir wyddowes garmetes agayne.

20Iuda sent the kydd by his shepherde of Odolla, to fetch the pledge agayne from the woman, and he founde her not. 21Then axed he the men of the same place, & sayde: Where is the whoore yt sat without in the waye? They answered: There hath no whoore bene here. 22And he came agayne vnto Iuda, and saide: I haue not found her, morouer ye men of the same place saide: that there hath no whoore bene there. 23Iuda sayde: Let her take it vnto her, lest we happly be shamed, for I haue sent the kydd, and thou hast not founde her.

24After thre monethes it was tolde Iuda: Thamar thy doughter in lawe hath plaied the whoore: and beholde, by whordome is she gotten with childe. Iuda sayde: brynge her forth, that she maye be brent. 25And whan she was brought forth, she sent vnto hir father in lawe, and sayde: By the man yt oweth these, am I wt childe. And she sayde: Knowest thou whose is this signet, this bracelet & this staff? 26Iuda knewe the, & sayde: She is more righteous the I, for I gaue hir not my sonne Sela: But he laye nomore with her.

The Birth of Perez and Zerah

27Whan the tyme came that she shulde be delyuered, there were two twyns founde in hir wombe. 28And as she was now in trauelynge, the one put out his hande. Then the mydwife toke and boude a reed threde aboute it, and saide: This shal come out first. 29But whan he pluckte in his hande agayne, his brother came forth. And she sayde: Wherfore is there a rent mayde for thy sake? And he was called Phares. 30Afterwarde came his brother forth, which had ye reed threde aboute his hande, and he was called Zarah.