Good News Translation GNT
English Standard Version ESV
1 About that time Judah left his brothers and went to stay with a man named Hirah, who was from the town of Adullam.
1
It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and turned aside to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.
2 There Judah met a young Canaanite woman whose father was named Shua. He married her,
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There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua. He took her and went in to her,
3 and she bore him a son, whom he named Er.
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and she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er.
4 She became pregnant again and bore another son and named him Onan.
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She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan.
5 Again she had a son and named him Shelah. Judah was at Achzib when the boy was born.
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Yet again she bore a son, and she called his name Shelah. Judah was in Chezib when she bore him.
6 For his first son Er, Judah got a wife whose name was Tamar.
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And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.
7 Er's conduct was evil, and it displeased the Lord, so the Lord killed him.
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But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death.
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."
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Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your 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.
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But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his. So whenever he went in to his brother’s wife he would waste the semen on the ground, so as not to give offspring to his brother.
10 What he did displeased the Lord, and the Lord killed him also.
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And what he did was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death also.
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.
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Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house, till Shelah my son grows up”—for he feared that he would die, like his brothers. So Tamar went and remained in her father’s house.
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.
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In the course of time the wife of Judah, Shua’s daughter, died. When Judah was comforted, he went up to Timnah to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.
13 Someone told Tamar that her father-in-law was going to Timnah to shear his sheep.
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And when Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep, ”
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.
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she took off her widow’s garments and covered herself with a veil, wrapping herself up, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she had not been given to him in marriage.
15 When Judah saw her, he thought that she was a prostitute, because she had her face covered.
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When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face.
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?"
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He turned to her at the roadside and said, “Come, let me come in to you, ” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me? ”
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."
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He answered, “I will send you a young goat from the flock. ” And she said, “If you give me a pledge, until you send it—”
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.
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He said, “What pledge shall I give you? ” She replied, “Your signet and your cord and your staff that is in your hand. ” So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she conceived by him.
19 Tamar went home, took off her veil, and put her widow's clothes back on.
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Then she arose and went away, and taking off her veil she put on the garments of her widowhood.
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.
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When Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite to take back the pledge from the woman’s hand, he did not find her.
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.
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And he asked the men of the place, “Where is the cult prostitute who was at Enaim at the roadside? ” And they said, “No cult prostitute has been here. ”
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."
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So he returned to Judah and said, “I have not found her. Also, the men of the place said, ‘No cult prostitute has been here. ’”
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."
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And Judah replied, “Let her keep the things as her own, or we shall be laughed at. You see, I sent this young goat, and you did not find her. ”
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."
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About three months later Judah was told, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has been immoral. Moreover, she is pregnant by immorality. ” And Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned. ”
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."
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As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, “By the man to whom these belong, I am pregnant. ” And she said, “Please identify whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff. ”
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.
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Then Judah identified them and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah. ” And he did not know her again.
27 When the time came for her to give birth, it was discovered that she was going to have twins.
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When the time of her labor came, there were twins in her womb.
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."
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And when she was in labor, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, “This one came out first. ”
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.
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But as he drew back his hand, behold, his brother came out. And she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself! ” Therefore his name was called Perez.
30 Then his brother was born with the red thread on his arm, and he was named Zerah.
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Afterward his brother came out with the scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was called Zerah.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2025