| King James Bible | New International Version |
| 1And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. | 1At that time, Judah left his brothers and went down to stay with a man of Adullam named Hirah. |
| 2And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah; and he took her, and went in unto her. | 2There Judah met the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua. He married her and made love to her; |
| 3And she conceived, and bare a son; and he called his name Er. | 3she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, who was named Er. |
| 4And she conceived again, and bare a son; and she called his name Onan. | 4She conceived again and gave birth to a son and named him Onan. |
| 5And she yet again conceived, and bare a son; and called his name Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bare him. | 5She gave birth to still another son and named him Shelah. It was at Kezib that she gave birth to him. |
| 6And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar. | 6Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. |
| 7And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him. | 7But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the LORD's sight; so the LORD put him to death. |
| 8And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother. | 8Then Judah said to Onan, "Sleep with your brother's wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to raise up offspring for your brother." |
| 9And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother. | 9But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother's wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother. |
| 10And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also. | 10What he did was wicked in the LORD's sight; so the LORD put him to death also. |
| 11Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at thy father's house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren did. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house. | 11Judah then said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, "Live as a widow in your father's household until my son Shelah grows up." For he thought, "He may die too, just like his brothers." So Tamar went to live in her father's household. |
| 12And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah's wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. | 12After a long time Judah's wife, the daughter of Shua, died. When Judah had recovered from his grief, he went up to Timnah, to the men who were shearing his sheep, and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went with him. |
| 13And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father in law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep. | 13When Tamar was told, "Your father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep," |
| 14And she put her widow's garments off from her, and covered her with a vail, 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 unto him to wife. | 14she took off her widow's clothes, covered herself with a veil to disguise herself, and then sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that, though Shelah had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his wife. |
| 15When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face. | 15When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. |
| 16And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee; (for he knew not that she was his daughter in law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me? | 16Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he went over to her by the roadside and said, "Come now, let me sleep with you." "And what will you give me to sleep with you?" she asked. |
| 17And he said, I will send thee a kid from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it? | 17"I'll send you a young goat from my flock," he said. "Will you give me something as a pledge until you send it?" she asked. |
| 18And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thine hand. And he gave it her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him. | 18He said, "What pledge should I give you?" "Your seal and its cord, and the staff in your hand," she answered. So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him. |
| 19And she arose, and went away, and laid by her vail from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood. | 19After she left, she took off her veil and put on her widow's clothes again. |
| 20And 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. | 20Meanwhile Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite in order to get his pledge back from the woman, but he did not find her. |
| 21Then 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. | 21He asked the men who lived there, "Where is the shrine prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim?" "There hasn't been any shrine prostitute here," they said. |
| 22And 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. | 22So he went back to Judah and said, "I didn't find her. Besides, the men who lived there said, 'There hasn't been any shrine prostitute here.'" |
| 23And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her. | 23Then Judah said, "Let her keep what she has, or we will become a laughingstock. After all, I did send her this young goat, but you didn't find her." |
| 24And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt. | 24About three months later Judah was told, "Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution, and as a result she is now pregnant." Judah said, "Bring her out and have her burned to death!" |
| 25When 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 thee, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff. | 25As she was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law. "I am pregnant by the man who owns these," she said. And she added, "See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are." |
| 26And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more. | 26Judah recognized them and said, "She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn't give her to my son Shelah." And he did not sleep with her again. |
| 27And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb. | 27When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. |
| 28And it came to pass, when she travailed, that the one put out his hand: and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first. | 28As she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand; so the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his wrist and said, "This one came out first." |
| 29And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, How hast thou broken forth? this breach be upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez. | 29But when he drew back his hand, his brother came out, and she said, "So this is how you have broken out!" And he was named Perez. |
| 30And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand: and his name was called Zarah. | 30Then his brother, who had the scarlet thread on his wrist, came out. And he was named Zerah. |
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