The Bible in Basic English BBE
Good News Translation GNT
1 Now at that time, Judah went away from his brothers and became the friend of a man of Adullam named Hirah.
1
About that time Judah left his brothers and went to stay with a man named Hirah, who was from the town of Adullam.
2 And there he saw the daughter of a certain man of Canaan named Shua, and took her as his wife.
2
There Judah met a young Canaanite woman whose father was named Shua. He married her,
3 And she gave birth to a son, and he gave him the name Er.
3
and she bore him a son, whom he named Er.
4 And again she gave birth to a son, and he gave him the name Onan.
4
She became pregnant again and bore another son and named him Onan.
5 Then she had another son, to whom she gave the name Shelah; she was at Chezib when the birth took place.
5
Again she had a son and named him Shelah. Judah was at Achzib when the boy was born.
6 And Judah took a wife for his first son Er, and her name was Tamar.
6
For his first son Er, Judah got a wife whose name was Tamar.
7 Now Er, Judah's first son, did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so that he put him to death.
7
Er's conduct was evil, and it displeased the Lord, so the Lord killed him.
8 Then Judah said to Onan, Go in to your brother's wife and do what it is right for a husband's brother to do; make her your wife and get offspring for your brother.
8
Then Judah said to Er's brother Onan, "Go and sleep with your brother's widow. Fulfill your obligation to her as her husband's brother, so that your brother may have descendants."
9 But Onan, seeing that the offspring would not be his, went in to his brother's wife, but let his seed go on to the earth, so that he might not get offspring for his brother.
9
But Onan knew that the children would not belong to him, so when he had intercourse with his brother's widow, he let the semen spill on the ground, so that there would be no children for his brother.
10 And what he did was evil in the eyes of the Lord, so that he put him to death, like his brother.
10
What he did displeased the Lord, and the Lord killed him also.
11 Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, Go back to your father's house and keep yourself as a widow till my son Shelah becomes a man: for he had in his mind the thought that death might come to him as it had come to his brothers. So Tamar went back to her father's house.
11
Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, "Return to your father's house and remain a widow until my son Shelah grows up." He said this because he was afraid that Shelah would be killed, as his brothers had been. So Tamar went back home.
12 And after a time, Bath-shua, Judah's wife, came to her end; and after Judah was comforted for her loss, he went to Timnah, where they were cutting the wool of his sheep, and his friend Hirah of Adullam went with him.
12
After some time Judah's wife died. When he had finished the time of mourning, he and his friend Hirah of Adullam went to Timnah, where his sheep were being sheared.
13 And when Tamar had news that her father-in-law was going up to Timnah to the wool-cutting,
13
Someone told Tamar that her father-in-law was going to Timnah to shear his sheep.
14 She took off her widow's clothing, and covering herself with her veil, she took her seat near Enaim on the road to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was now a man, but she had not been made his wife.
14
So she changed from the widow's clothes she had been wearing, covered her face with a veil, and sat down at the entrance to Enaim, a town on the road to Timnah. As she well knew, Judah's youngest son Shelah was now grown up, and yet she had not been given to him in marriage.
15 When Judah saw her he took her to be a loose woman of the town, because her face was covered.
15
When Judah saw her, he thought that she was a prostitute, because she had her face covered.
16 And turning to her by the roadside, he said to her, Let me come in to you; for he had no idea that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, What will you give me as my price?
16
He went over to her at the side of the road and said, "All right, how much do you charge?" (He did not know that she was his daughter-in-law.) She said, "What will you give me?"
17 And he said, I will give you a young goat from the flock. And she said, What will you give me as a sign till you send it?
17
He answered, "I will send you a young goat from my flock." She said, "All right, if you will give me something to keep as a pledge until you send the goat."
18 And he said, What would you have? And she said, Your ring and its cord and the stick in your hand. So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she became with child by him.
18
"What shall I give you as a pledge?" he asked. She answered, "Your seal with its cord and the walking stick you are carrying." He gave them to her. Then they had intercourse, and she became pregnant.
19 Then she got up and went away and took off her veil and put on her widow's clothing.
19
Tamar went home, took off her veil, and put her widow's clothes back on.
20 Then Judah sent his friend Hirah with the young goat, to get back the things which he had given as a sign to the woman: but she was not there.
20
Judah sent his friend Hirah to take the goat and get back from the woman the articles he had pledged, but Hirah could not find her.
21 And he put questions to the men of the place, saying, Where is the loose woman who was in Enaim by the wayside? And they said, There was no such woman there.
21
He asked some men at Enaim, "Where is the prostitute who was here by the road?" "There has never been a prostitute here," they answered.
22 So he went back to Judah, and said, I have not seen her, and the men of the place say that there is no such woman there.
22
He returned to Judah and said, "I couldn't find her. The men of the place said that there had never been a prostitute there."
23 And Judah said, Let her keep the things, so that we may not be shamed; I sent the young goat, but you did not see the woman.
23
Judah said, "Let her keep the things. We don't want people to laugh at us. I did try to pay her, but you couldn't find her."
24 Now about three months after this, word came to Judah that Tamar, his daughter-in-law, had been acting like a loose woman and was with child. And Judah said, Take her out and let her be burned.
24
About three months later someone told Judah, "Your daughter-in-law Tamar has been acting like a whore, and now she is pregnant." Judah ordered, "Take her out and burn her to death."
25 And while she was being taken out, she sent word to her father-in-law, saying, The man whose property these things are, is the father of my child: say then, whose are this ring and this cord and this stick?
25
As she was being taken out, she sent word to her father-in-law: "I am pregnant by the man who owns these things. Look at them and see whose they are - this seal with its cord and this walking stick."
26 Then Judah said openly that they were his, and said, She is more upright than I am, for I did not give her to Shelah my son. And he had no more connection with her.
26
Judah recognized them and said, "She is in the right. I have failed in my obligation to her - I should have given her to my son Shelah in marriage." And Judah never had intercourse with her again.
27 And when the time came for her to give birth, it was clear that there were two children in her body.
27
When the time came for her to give birth, it was discovered that she was going to have twins.
28 And while she was in the act of giving birth, one of them put out his hand; and the woman who was with her put a red thread round his hand, saying, This one came out first.
28
While she was in labor, one of them put out an arm; the midwife caught it, tied a red thread around it, and said, "This one was born first."
29 But then he took his hand back again, and his brother came first to birth: and the woman said, What an opening you have made for yourself! So he was named Perez.
29
But he pulled his arm back, and his brother was born first. Then the midwife said, "So this is how you break your way out!" So he was named Perez.
30 And then his brother came out, with the red thread round his hand, and he was named Zerah.
30
Then his brother was born with the red thread on his arm, and he was named Zerah.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.