Judah and Tamar
1At that time, Judah left his brothers and went down to stay with a man of Adullam named Hirah. 2There Judah met the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua. He married her and made love to her; 3she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, who was named Er. 4She conceived again and gave birth to a son and named him Onan. 5She gave birth to still another son and named him Shelah. It was at Kezib that she gave birth to him.
6Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. 7But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death.
8Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to raise up offspring for your brother.” 9But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother. 10What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death also.
11Judah then said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s household until my son Shelah grows up.” For he thought, “He may die too, just like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s household.
12After a long time Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. When Judah had recovered from his grief, he went up to Timnah, to the men who were shearing his sheep, and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went with him.
13When Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep,” 14she took off her widow’s clothes, covered herself with a veil to disguise herself, and then sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that, though Shelah had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his wife.
15When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. 16Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he went over to her by the roadside and said, “Come now, let me sleep with you.”
“And what will you give me to sleep with you?” she asked.
17“I’ll send you a young goat from my flock,” he said.
“Will you give me something as a pledge until you send it?” she asked.
18He said, “What pledge should I give you?”
“Your seal and its cord, and the staff in your hand,” she answered. So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him. 19After she left, she took off her veil and put on her widow’s clothes again.
20Meanwhile Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite in order to get his pledge back from the woman, but he did not find her. 21He asked the men who lived there, “Where is the shrine prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim?”
“There hasn’t been any shrine prostitute here,” they said.
22So he went back to Judah and said, “I didn’t find her. Besides, the men who lived there said, ‘There hasn’t been any shrine prostitute here.’ ”
23Then Judah said, “Let her keep what she has, or we will become a laughingstock. After all, I did send her this young goat, but you didn’t find her.”
24About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution, and as a result she is now pregnant.”
Judah said, “Bring her out and have her burned to death!”
25As she was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law. “I am pregnant by the man who owns these,” she said. And she added, “See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are.”
26Judah recognized them and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn’t give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not sleep with her again.
27When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. 28As she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand; so the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his wrist and said, “This one came out first.” 29But when he drew back his hand, his brother came out, and she said, “So this is how you have broken out!” And he was named Perez.38:29 Perez means breaking out. 30Then his brother, who had the scarlet thread on his wrist, came out. And he was named Zerah.38:30 Zerah can mean scarlet or brightness.
猶大與她瑪
1那時，猶大離開了他的兄弟們，到亞杜蘭人希拉的家裡住。 2他在那裡遇見了迦南人書亞的女兒，就娶她為妻，與她同房。 3她懷孕生了一個兒子，猶大給他取名叫珥。 4她又懷孕生了一個兒子，給他取名叫俄南。 5她再次懷孕生了一個兒子，給他取名叫示拉。示拉是在基悉出生的。
6猶大給長子珥娶了她瑪為妻。 7耶和華見猶大的長子珥邪惡，就取走了他的性命。 8猶大對俄南說：「你要與嫂子她瑪同房，向她盡娶寡嫂的本分，好替你哥哥傳宗接代。」 9俄南知道生了兒子也不歸自己，所以每次與她瑪同房都把精液遺在地上，以免給哥哥留後。 10耶和華見俄南行為邪惡，就取走了他的性命。 11猶大恐怕示拉會像他的兩個哥哥一樣死去，就對兒媳她瑪說：「示拉還沒有長大，你先回娘家守寡吧。」她瑪就回娘家去住了。
12多年後，猶大的妻子，即書亞的女兒死了。喪期過後，猶大就和他的朋友亞杜蘭人希拉去亭拿，到給他剪羊毛的人那裡。 13有人告訴她瑪說：「你公公上亭拿去剪羊毛了。」 14她瑪見示拉已經長大，卻仍然沒有娶她，就脫下寡婦的衣服，用帕子蒙上臉，換了裝束，坐在去亭拿路上的伊拿印城門口。 15猶大看見她蒙著臉，以為她是妓女， 16就走到路邊去找她，說：「你來陪我睡覺吧。」猶大不知道她是自己的兒媳婦。她瑪問道：「我陪你睡覺，你給我什麼呢？」 17猶大回答說：「我會從羊群中取一隻山羊羔送給你。」她瑪問道：「羊還沒有送來以前，你給我什麼作抵押呢？」 18猶大問：「你要什麼作抵押呢？」她瑪說：「我要你的印、印帶和你的手杖。」猶大給了她，然後跟她睡覺。她瑪就懷了孕。 19事後，她瑪起來走了。她拿掉蒙臉的帕子，仍舊穿上寡婦的裝束。
20猶大託他的朋友亞杜蘭人送去一隻山羊羔，要從那女人手中換回抵押物，卻找不到她。 21他的朋友就問當地的人：「伊拿印路旁的廟妓在哪裡？」他們回答說：「這裡沒有廟妓。」 22他的朋友只好回去對猶大說：「我找不著她，當地人說那裡沒有廟妓。」 23猶大說：「讓她留著我的東西吧，免得我們成為笑柄。反正我把羊送過去了，只是你找不到她。」
24大約過了三個月，有人告訴猶大說：「你的兒媳婦她瑪不守婦道，並且懷孕了。」猶大說：「把她拉出來燒死！」 25他們正要把她拉出來，她請人傳信給她公公，說：「這些東西的主人使我懷了孕，請你看看這印、印帶和杖是誰的？」 26猶大認出是自己的東西，就說：「她比我更有理，因為我沒有讓兒子示拉娶她。」猶大沒有再與她睡覺。
27她瑪臨產的時候，才知道腹中是一對雙胞胎。 28生產的時候，一個嬰兒先伸出手來，接生婆就把一條紅線繫在他的手上，說：「他是先出生的。」 29可是那嬰兒隨後卻把手縮回去，他的胞兄先出生了，接生婆說：「你怎麼衝出來了！」因此，他的名字叫法勒斯38·29 「法勒斯」意思是「衝出來」。。 30後來，那個手上繫有紅線的孩子也出生了，給他取名叫謝拉38·30 「謝拉」意思是「紅色」或「光明」。。
