And it came to pass in that time, and Yehudah went down from his brothers, and he turned aside to a man, an Adullamite, and his name was Hirah.

And Yehudah saw there the daughter of a man, a Canaanite, and his name was Shu'a, and he took her and went in to her.

And she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name 'Er.

And she conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan.

And she added again and bore a son, and she called his name Shelah, and it was in Keziv when she bore him.

And Yehudah took a wife for 'Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.

And 'Er, Yehudah's firstborn, was wicked in the eyes of יהוה, and יהוה put him to death.

And Yehudah said to Onan, 'Go in to your brother's wife, and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.'

And Onan knew that the offspring would not be his, and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, so as not to give offspring to his brother.

And what he did was wicked in the eyes of יהוה, and he put him to death also.

And Yehudah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, 'Remain a widow in your father's house until my son Shelah grows up,' for he said, 'Lest he also die, like his brothers.' And Tamar went and remained in her father's house.

And the days multiplied, and Shu'a, Yehudah's wife, died, and Yehudah was comforted, and he went up to the shearers of his sheep, he and Hirah his friend the Adullamite, to Timnah.

And it was told to Tamar, saying, 'Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.'

And she took off her widow's garments from her, and covered herself with a veil, and disguised herself, and sat in the entrance of Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah, for she saw that Shelah had grown, and she had not been given to him as a wife.

And Yehudah saw her, and he thought her to be a prostitute, for she had covered her face.

And he turned to her by the road, and said, 'Come now, let me come in to you,' for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, 'What will you give me, that you may come in to me?'

And he said, 'I will send a young goat from the flock.' And she said, 'If you will give a pledge until you send it.'

And he said, 'What is the pledge that I shall give you?' And she said, 'Your signet ring, and your cord, and your staff that is in your hand.' And he gave them to her, and he came in to her, and she conceived by him.

And she arose and went, and took off her veil from her, and put on her widow's garments.

And Yehudah sent the young goat by the hand of his friend the Adullamite to take the pledge from the woman's hand, but he did not find her.

And he asked the men of her place, saying, 'Where is the cult prostitute who was in Enaim by the road?' And they said, 'There has been no cult prostitute here.'

And he returned to Yehudah and said, 'I did not find her, and also the men of the place said, 'There has been no cult prostitute here.''

And Yehudah said, 'Let her take it for herself, lest we become a laughingstock. Look, I sent this young goat, and you did not find her.'

And it came to pass, about three months later, and it was told to Yehudah, saying, 'Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the prostitute, and indeed, she is pregnant by prostitution.' And Yehudah said, 'Bring her out, and let her be burned.'

She was being brought out, and she sent to her father-in-law, saying, 'To the man whose these are, I am pregnant.' And she said, 'Identify, please, whose these are: the signet ring, and the cord, and the staff.'

And Yehudah identified them and said, 'She is more righteous than I, because I did not give her to Shelah my son.' And he did not again know her.

And it came to pass at the time of her giving birth, and behold, twins were in her womb.

And it came to pass at her giving birth, and a hand emerged, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, 'This one came out first.'

And it came to pass as he drew back his hand, and behold, his brother emerged, and she said, 'Why have you burst forth against yourself?' And she called his name Perez.

And afterward his brother emerged, whose hand had the scarlet thread, and she called his name Zerah.