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that time Judah left his brothers and went down to stay with a Adullamite man named Hirah. 2 There Judah met the daughter of a Canaanite named Shua. He married her and went in to her, 3 and she conceived and gave birth to a son, and he named him Er. 4 She conceived again and gave birth to a son, and she named him Onan. 5 She gave birth to another son, and she named him Shelah. It was at Chezib that she gave birth to him.
6 Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn, 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.
8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and fulfil your duty to her as a brother-in-law to produce offspring for your brother.” 9 But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so whenever he went in to his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground so he would not produce offspring for his brother. 10 But what he did was evil in the sight of the Lord, so He put him to death also.
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 thought, “He may die too, like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s house.
12 After a long time Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. When Judah had finished mourning, he went with his friend Hirah the Adullamite up to Timnah to the men shearing his sheep.
13 When Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,” 14 she took off her widow’s clothes, veiled her face, covered 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 a wife.
15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. 16 He went over to her by the roadside, and said, “Come now, let me go in to you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law.
She said, “What will you give me to let you come in to me?”
17 “I will send you a young goat from my flock,” he answered.
But she said, “Only if you give me something as a pledge until you send it.”
18 “What pledge should I give you?” he asked.
She answered, “Your signet and its cord, and the staff in your hand.” So he gave them to her, and he went into her and she became pregnant by him. 19 After she left, she took off her veil and put her widow’s clothes back on.
20 When Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite in order to get his pledge back from the woman, he could not find her. 21 He asked the men of that place, “Where is the cult prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim?”
“There hasn’t been any cult prostitute here,” they replied.
22 So he went back to Judah and told him, “I couldn’t find her, and besides, the men of the place told me, ‘There hasn’t been any cult prostitute here’.”
23 Then Judah said, “Let her keep the items for herself, otherwise we will become a laughingstock. After all, I did send her this young goat, and you could not find her.”
24 About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has been living like a prostitute, and now she is pregnant.”
Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned to death!”
25 As she was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law: “I am pregnant by the man to whom these belong.” And she added, “Please see if you recognize whose signet and cord and staff these are.”
26 Judah recognized them and said, “She is more righteous than I, because I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not lie with her again.
27 When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. 28 As she was giving birth, one put out his hand; and the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his hand and said, “This one came out first.” 29 But when he pulled his hand back, his brother came out, and she said, “So how have you broken out first?” So he was named Perez. 30 Then his brother, who had the scarlet thread tied on his hand, came out, and he was named Zerah.