1ABOUT THAT TIME JUDAH LEFT HIS BROTHERS and went south and pitched his tent in company with an Adullamite named Hirah. 2There he saw Bathshua the daughter of a Canaanite and married her. He slept with her, 3and she conceived and bore a son, whom she called Er. 4She conceived again and bore a son whom she called Onan. 5Once more she conceived and bore a son whom she called Shelah, and she ceased to bear children when she had given birth to him. 6Judah found a wife for his eldest son Er; her name was Tamar. 7But Judah's eldest son Er was wicked in the LORD's sight, and the LORD took his life. 8Then Judah told Onan to sleep with his brother's wife, to do his duty as the husband's brother and raise up issue for his brother. 9But Onan knew that the issue would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother's wife, he spilled his seed on the ground so as not to raise up issue for his brother. 10What he did was wicked in the LORD's sight, and the LORD took his life. 11Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, 'Remain as a widow in your father's house until my son Shelah grows up'; for he was afraid that he too would die like his brothers. So Tamar went and stayed in her father's house.
12Time passed, and Judah's wife Bathshua died. When he had finished mourning, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went up to Timnath at sheep-shearing. 13When Tamar was told that her father-in-law was on his way to shear his sheep at Timnath, 14she took off her widow's weeds, veiled her face, perfumed herself and sat where the road forks in two directions on the way to Timnath. She did this because she knew that Shelah had grown up and she had not been given to him as a wife. 15When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, although she had veiled her face. 16He turned to her where she sat by the roadside and said, 'Let me lie with you', not knowing that she was his daughter-in-law. She said 'What will you give me to lie with me?' 17He answered, 'I will send you a kid from my flock', but she said, 'Will you give me a pledge until you send it?' 18He asked what pledge he should give her, and she replied, 'Your seal and its cord, and the staff which you hold in your hand.' So he gave them to her and lay with her, and she conceived. 19She then rose and went home, took off her veil and resumed her widow's weeds. 20Judah sent the kid by his friend the Adullamite in order to recover the pledge from the woman, but he could not find her. 21He asked the men of that place, 'Where is that temple-prostitute, the one who was sitting where the road forks?', but they answered, 'There is no temple-prostitute here.' 22So he went back to Judah and told him that he had not found her and that the men of the place had said there was no such prostitute there. 23Judah said, 'Let her keep my pledge, or we shall get a bad name. I did send a kid, but you could not find her.' 24About three months later Judah was told that his daughter-in-law Tamar had behaved like a common prostitute and through her wanton conduct was with child. Judah said, 'Bring her out so that she may be burnt.' 25But when she was brought out, she sent to her father-in-law and said, 'The father of my child is the man to whom these things belong. See if you recognize whose they are, the engraving on the seal, the pattern of the cord, and the staff.' 26Judah recognized them and said, 'She is more in the right than I am, because I did not give her to my son Shelah.' He did not have intercourse with her again. 27When her time was come, there were twins in her womb, 28and while she was in labour one of them put out a hand. The midwife took a scarlet thread and fastened it round the wrist, saying, 'This one appeared first.' 29No sooner had he drawn back his hand, than his brother came out and the midwife said, 'What! you have broken out first!' So he was named Perez . 30Soon afterwards. his brother was born with the scarlet thread on his wrist, and he was named Zerah .
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