1At that time Judah left his brothers and went to stay with a man named Hirah, who was from the town of Adullam. 2Judah met a young Canaanite woman there whose father was named Shua. He married her. 3Shua bore him a son, whom he named Er. 4She became pregnant again and gave birth to another son and named him Onan. 5She had another son and named him Shelah. Judah was at Achzib when the boy was born. 6For his first son Er, Judah got a wife whose name was Tamar. 7Er was an evil man. It displeased Jehovah. So Jehovah killed him. 8Then Judah said to Er’s brother Onan: »Go sleep with your brother’s widow. Fulfill your obligation to her as her husband’s brother. That way your brother may have descendants.« 9Onan 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, assuring that there would be no children for his brother. 10What he did displeased Jehovah. So Jehovah killed him also. 11Judah 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. 12After some time Judah’s wife died. When he finished mourning, he and his friend Hirah of Adullam went to Timnah, where his sheep were being sheared. 13Tamar found out that her father-in-law Judah was going to Timnah to shear his sheep. 14She realized that Shelah was now a grown man. She had not been allowed to marry him. So she decided to dress in something other than her widow’s clothes and to cover her face with a veil. Then she sat outside the town of Enaim on the road to Timnah. 15Judah came along. He did not recognize her because of the veil. He thought she was a prostitute, 16and asked her to sleep with him. She asked: »What will you give me if I do?« 17He answered: »One of my young goats.« Then she asked: »What will you give me to keep until you send the goat?« 18»What do you want?« he asked. »The ring on that cord around your neck,« she replied. »I also want the special walking stick you have with you.« So he gave them to her. They slept together and she became pregnant. 19After returning home, Tamar took off the veil and dressed in her widow’s clothes again. 20Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite, to receive the pledge from the woman’s hand. But he did not find her. 21He asked the men: »Where is the temple prostitute who was by the road at Enaim?« They said: »There has been no temple prostitute here.« 22So he went back to Judah and said: »I did not find her. Besides, the men who lived there said there has not been any temple 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 did not find her.« 24Three 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. 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 would not give her to my son Shelah.« 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. The midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his wrist and said: »This one came out first.« 29When he drew back his hand, his brother came out. She said: »So this is how you have broken out!« He was named Perez. 30Then his brother, who had the scarlet thread on his wrist, came out and he was given the name Zerah.