⁶ Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.^{(A) 7} But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the Lord’s sight;^(B) so the Lord put him to death.^(C)

⁸ Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to raise up offspring for your brother.”^{(D) 9} But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother. ¹⁰ What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death also.^(E)

¹¹ Judah then said to his daughter-in-law^(F) Tamar,^(G) “Live as a widow in your father’s household^(H) until my son Shelah^(I) grows up.”^(J) For he thought, “He may die too, just like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s household.

¹² After a long time Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua,^(K) died. When Judah had recovered from his grief, he went up to Timnah,^(L) to the men who were shearing his sheep,^(M) and his friend Hirah the Adullamite^(N) went with him.

¹³ When Tamar^(O) was told, “Your father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep,”^{(P) 14} she took off her widow’s clothes,^(Q) covered herself with a veil^(R) to disguise herself, and then sat down^(S) at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah.^(T) For she saw that, though Shelah^(U) had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his wife.