¹At that time Judah left his brothers and stayed with an Adullamite man named Hirah. ²There Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua. Judah acquired her as a wife and slept with her.³She became pregnant and had a son. Judah named him Er. ⁴She became pregnant again and had another son, whom she named Onan. ⁵Then she had yet another son, whom she named Shelah. She gave birth to him in Kezib. ⁶Judah acquired a wife for Er his firstborn; her name was Tamar. ⁷But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord killed him.⁸Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her so that you may raise up a descendant for your brother.” ⁹But Onan knew that the child would not be considered his. So whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he wasted his emission on the ground so as not to give his brother a descendant. ¹⁰What he did was evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord killed him too. ¹¹Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s house until Shelah my son grows up.” For he thought, “I don’t want him to die like his brothers.” So Tamar went and lived in her father’s house. ¹²After some time Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. After Judah was consoled, he left for Timnah to visit his sheepshearers, along with his friend Hirah the Adullamite. ¹³Tamar was told, “Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.” ¹⁴So she removed her widow’s clothes and covered herself with a veil. She wrapped herself and sat at the entrance to Enaim which is on the way to Timnah. (She did this because she saw that she had not been given to Shelah as a wife, even though he had now grown up.)¹⁵When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute because she had covered her face. ¹⁶He turned aside to her along the road and said, “Come, please, I want to sleep with you.” (He did not realize it was his daughter-in-law.) She asked, “What will you give me so that you may sleep with me?”¹⁷He replied, “I’ll send you a young goat from the flock.” She asked, “Will you give me a pledge until you send it?”¹⁸He said, “What pledge should I give you?” She replied, “Your seal, your cord, and the staff that’s in your hand.” So he gave them to her, then slept with her, and she became pregnant by him.¹⁹She left immediately, removed her veil, and put on her widow’s clothes. ²⁰Then Judah had his friend Hirah the Adullamite take a young goat to get back from the woman the items he had given in pledge, but Hirah could not find her.²¹He asked the men who were there, “Where is the cult prostitute who was at Enaim by the road?” But they replied, “There has been no cult prostitute here.” ²²So he returned to Judah and said, “I couldn’t find her. Moreover, the men of the place said, ‘There has been no cult prostitute here.’” ²³Judah said, “Let her keep the things for herself. Otherwise we will appear to be dishonest. I did indeed send this young goat, but you couldn’t find her.”²⁴After three months Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has turned to prostitution, and as a result she has become pregnant.” Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!” ²⁵While they were bringing her out, she sent word to her father-in-law: “I am pregnant by the man to whom these belong.” Then she said, “Identify the one to whom the seal, cord, and staff belong.” ²⁶Judah recognized them and said, “She is more upright than I am, because I wouldn’t give her to Shelah my son.” He was not physically intimate with her again. ²⁷When it was time for her to give birth, there were twins in her womb. ²⁸While she was giving birth, one child put out his hand, and the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” ²⁹But then he drew back his hand, and his brother came out before him. She said, “How you have broken out of the womb!” So he was named Perez. ³⁰Afterward his brother came out—the one who had the scarlet thread on his hand—and he was named Zerah.