| New King James Version | Berean Study Bible |
| 1It came to pass at that time that Judah departed from his brothers, and visited a certain Adullamite whose name was Hirah. | 1About that time, Judah left his brothers and settled near a man named Hirah, an Adullamite. |
| 2And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua, and he married her and went in to her. | 2There Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua, and he took her as a wife and slept with her. |
| 3So she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er. | 3So she conceived and gave birth to a son, and Judah named him Er. |
| 4She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan. | 4Again she conceived and gave birth to a son, and she named him Onan. |
| 5And she conceived yet again and bore a son, and called his name Shelah. He was at Chezib when she bore him. | 5Then she gave birth to another son and named him Shelah; it was at Chezib that she gave birth to him. |
| 6Then Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. | 6Now Judah acquired a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. |
| 7But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD killed him. | 7But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; so the LORD put him to death. |
| 8And Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and marry her, and raise up an heir to your brother.” | 8Then 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.” |
| 9But Onan knew that the heir would not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother’s wife, that he emitted on the ground, lest he should give an heir to his brother. | 9But 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. |
| 10And the thing which he did displeased the LORD; therefore He killed him also. | 10What he did was wicked in the sight of the LORD, so He put Onan to death as well. |
| 11Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house till my son Shelah is grown.” For he said, “Lest he also die like his brothers.” And Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house. | 11Then 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. |
| 12Now in the process of time the daughter of Shua, Judah’s wife, died; and Judah was comforted, and went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. | 12After 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. |
| 13And it was told Tamar, saying, “Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.” | 13When Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,” |
| 14So she took off her widow’s garments, covered herself with a veil and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place which was on the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given to him as a wife. | 14she 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. |
| 15When Judah saw her, he thought she was a harlot, because she had covered her face. | 15When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute because she had covered her face. |
| 16Then he turned to her by the way, and said, “Please let me come in to you”; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. So she said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?” | 16Not 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. |
| 17And he said, “I will send a young goat from the flock.” So she said, “Will you give me a pledge till you send it?” | 17“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.” |
| 18Then he said, “What pledge shall I give you?” So she said, “Your signet and cord, and your staff that is in your hand.” Then he gave them to her, and went in to her, and she conceived by him. | 18“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. |
| 19So she arose and went away, and laid aside her veil and put on the garments of her widowhood. | 19Then Tamar got up and departed. And she removed her veil and put on her widow’s garments again. |
| 20And Judah sent the young goat by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman’s hand, but he did not find her. | 20Now 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. |
| 21Then he asked the men of that place, saying, “Where is the harlot who was openly by the roadside?” And they said, “There was no harlot in this place.” | 21He 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. |
| 22So he returned to Judah and said, “I cannot find her. Also, the men of the place said there was no harlot in this place.” | 22So 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.’ ” |
| 23Then Judah said, “Let her take them for herself, lest we be shamed; for I sent this young goat and you have not found her.” | 23“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.” |
| 24And it came to pass, about three months after, that Judah was told, saying, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the harlot; furthermore she is with child by harlotry.” So Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!” | 24About 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!” |
| 25When she was brought out, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, “By the man to whom these belong, I am with child.” And she said, “Please determine whose these are—the signet and cord, and staff.” | 25As 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?” |
| 26So Judah acknowledged them and said, “She has been more righteous than I, because I did not give her to Shelah my son.” And he never knew her again. | 26Judah 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. |
| 27Now it came to pass, at the time for giving birth, that behold, twins were in her womb. | 27When the time came for Tamar to give birth, there were twins in her womb. |
| 28And so it was, when she was giving birth, that the one put out his hand; and the midwife took a scarlet thread and bound it on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” | 28And 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. |
| 29Then it happened, as he drew back his hand, that his brother came out unexpectedly; and she said, “How did you break through? This breach be upon you!” Therefore his name was called Perez. | 29But when he pulled his hand back and his brother came out, she said, “You have broken out first!” So he was named Perez. |
| 30Afterward his brother came out who had the scarlet thread on his hand. And his name was called Zerah. | 30Then his brother came out with the scarlet thread around his wrist, and he was named Zerah. |
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