New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and settled near a certain Adullamite whose name was Hirah.
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Now at that time, Judah went away from his brothers and became the friend of a man of Adullam named Hirah.
2 There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua; he married her and went in to her.
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And there he saw the daughter of a certain man of Canaan named Shua, and took her as his wife.
3 She conceived and bore a son; and he named him Er.
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And she gave birth to a son, and he gave him the name Er.
4 Again she conceived and bore a son whom she named Onan.
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And again she gave birth to a son, and he gave him the name Onan.
5 Yet again she bore a son, and she named him Shelah. She was in Chezib when she bore him.
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Then she had another son, to whom she gave the name Shelah; she was at Chezib when the birth took place.
6 Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn; her name was Tamar.
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And Judah took a wife for his first son Er, and her name was Tamar.
7 But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death.
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Now Er, Judah's first son, did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so that he put him to death.
8 Then Judah said to Onan, "Go in to your brother's wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her; raise up offspring for your brother."
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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.
9 But since Onan knew that the offspring would not be his, he spilled his semen on the ground whenever he went in to his brother's wife, so that he would not give offspring to his brother.
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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.
10 What he did was displeasing in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death also.
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And what he did was evil in the eyes of the Lord, so that he put him to death, like his brother.
11 Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, "Remain a widow in your father's house until my son Shelah grows up"—for he feared that he too would die, like his brothers. So Tamar went to live in her father's house.
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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.
12 In course of time the wife of Judah, Shua's daughter, died; when Judah's time of mourning was over, he went up to Timnah to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.
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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.
13 When Tamar was told, "Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,"
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And when Tamar had news that her father-in-law was going up to Timnah to the wool-cutting,
14 she put off her widow's garments, put on a veil, wrapped herself up, and sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. She saw that Shelah was grown up, yet she had not been given to him in marriage.
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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.
15 When Judah saw her, he thought her to be a prostitute, for she had covered her face.
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When Judah saw her he took her to be a loose woman of the town, because her face was covered.
16 He went over 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?"
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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?
17 He answered, "I will send you a kid from the flock." And she said, "Only if you give me a pledge, until you send it."
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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?
18 He said, "What pledge shall I give you?" She replied, "Your signet and your cord, and the staff that is in your hand." So he gave them to her, and went in to her, and she conceived by him.
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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.
19 Then she got up and went away, and taking off her veil she put on the garments of her widowhood.
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Then she got up and went away and took off her veil and put on her widow's clothing.
20 When Judah sent the kid by his friend the Adullamite, to recover the pledge from the woman, he could not find her.
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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.
21 He asked the townspeople, "Where is the temple prostitute who was at Enaim by the wayside?" But they said, "No prostitute has been here."
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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.
22 So he returned to Judah, and said, "I have not found her; moreover the townspeople said, "No prostitute has been here.' "
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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.
23 Judah replied, "Let her keep the things as her own, otherwise we will be laughed at; you see, I sent this kid, and you could not find her."
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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.
24 About three months later Judah was told, "Your daughter-in-law Tamar has played the whore; moreover she is pregnant as a result of whoredom." And Judah said, "Bring her out, and let her be burned."
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.
25 As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, "It was the owner of these who made me pregnant." And she said, "Take note, please, whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff."
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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?
26 Then Judah acknowledged them and said, "She is more in the right than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah." And he did not lie with her again.
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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.
27 When the time of her delivery came, there were twins in her womb.
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And when the time came for her to give birth, it was clear that there were two children in her body.
28 While she was in labor, one put out a hand; and the midwife took and bound on his hand a crimson thread, saying, "This one came out first."
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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.
29 But just then he drew back his hand, and out came his brother; and she said, "What a breach you have made for yourself!" Therefore he was named Perez.
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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.
30 Afterward his brother came out with the crimson thread on his hand; and he was named Zerah.
30
And then his brother came out, with the red thread round his hand, and he was named Zerah.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.