¹⁸ He said, “What pledge should I give you?”

“Your seal^(A) and its cord, and the staff^(B) in your hand,” she answered. So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him.^{(C) 19} After she left, she took off her veil and put on her widow’s clothes^(D) again.

²⁰ Meanwhile Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite^(E) in order to get his pledge^(F) back from the woman, but he did not find her. ²¹ He asked the men who lived there, “Where is the shrine prostitute^(G) who was beside the road at Enaim?”

“There hasn’t been any shrine prostitute here,” they said.

²² So 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.’”

²³ Then Judah said, “Let her keep what she has,^(H) or we will become a laughingstock.^(I) After all, I did send her this young goat, but you didn’t find her.”

²⁴ About 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!”^(J)

²⁵ As 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.”^(K)

²⁶ Judah recognized them and said, “She is more righteous than I,^(L) since I wouldn’t give her to my son Shelah.^(M)” And he did not sleep with her again.

²⁷ When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb.^{(N) 28} As she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand; so the midwife^(O) took a scarlet thread and tied it on his wrist^(P) and said, “This one came out first.” ²⁹ But when he drew back his hand, his brother came out,^(Q) and she said, “So this is how you have broken out!” And he was named Perez.^{[a](R) 30} Then his brother, who had the scarlet thread on his wrist,^(S) came out. And he was named Zerah.^[b](T)