Read the Bible

¹ It fortuned at the same time, yt Iuda wente downe fro his brethren, & gat him to a man called Hyra at Odollam.² And there Iuda sawe a ma of Canaas doughter called Sua, and toke her. And whe he had lyen with her,³ she conceaued and bare a sonne, whom she called Er.⁴ And she conceaued agayne, & bare a sonwho she called Ona.⁵ She proceaded yet further, & bare a sonne, who she called Sela. And wha she had borne him, she left of bearinge.⁶ And Iuda gaue his first sonne Er a wife, whose name was Thamar.⁷ But he was wicked before the LORDE, therfore the LORDE slew him.⁸ Then sayde Iuda vnto his sonne Onan: Go lie with thy brothers wife, and marye thyself with her, that thou mayest rayse vp sede vnto thy brother.⁹ But when Onan knewe that the sede shulde not be his owne, whan he laye with his brothers wife, he let it fall vpon the earth and destroyed it, yt he shulde not geue sede vnto his brother.¹⁰ This thinge that he dyd displeased the LORDE sore, and he slewe him also.¹¹ Then sayde Iudas vnto Thamar his sonnes wyfe. Remayne a wyddow in thy fathers house, tyll my sonne Sela be growne: for he thought: peraduenture he might dye also like as his brethren. So Thamar wente hir waye, and remained in hir fathers house.

¹² Now wha many dayes were past, ye doughter of Sua Iudas wife dyed. And whan Iuda had left mournynge, he wente vp vnto Thimnath to clyppe his shepe with his shepherde Hyra of Odollam.¹³ Then was it tolde Thamar: beholde, thy father in lawe goeth vp vnto Thimnath, to clyppe his shepe.¹⁴ Then put she of ye wyddowes garmentes that she had vpon her, couered and dysgysed hir self, & sat hir downe without the porte by the waye syde towarde Thymnath. For she sawe that Sela was growne, and she was not geuen vnto him to wife.¹⁵ Now whan Iuda sawe her, he thought it had bene an whoore, for she had couered hir face:¹⁶ and he gat him to her in the waye, and saide: I praye the let me lye with the, for he knewe not that it was his doughter in lawe. She answered: What wilt thou geue me, that thou mayest lie with me?¹⁷ He sayde: I wil sende the a kydd from the flocke. She answered: Geue me a pledge then, tyll thou sende it me.¹⁸ He sayde: What pledge wilt thou that I geue the? She answered: Thy signet, and thy bracelet, and thy staff that thou hast in thy hade. Then he gaue it her, and laye with her, and she was with childe of him.¹⁹ And she gat hir vp, and wente hir waye, and layed of hir cloke, and put on hir wyddowes garmetes agayne.²⁰ Iuda sent the kydd by his shepherde of Odolla, to fetch the pledge agayne from the woman, and he founde her not.²¹ Then axed he the men of the same place, & sayde: Where is the whoore yt sat without in the waye? They answered: There hath no whoore bene here.²² And he came agayne vnto Iuda, and saide: I haue not found her, morouer ye men of the same place saide: that there hath no whoore bene there.²³ Iuda sayde: Let her take it vnto her, lest we happly be shamed, for I haue sent the kydd, and thou hast not founde her.

²⁴ After thre monethes it was tolde Iuda: Thamar thy doughter in lawe hath plaied the whoore: and beholde, by whordome is she gotten with childe. Iuda sayde: brynge her forth, that she maye be brent.²⁵ And whan she was brought forth, she sent vnto hir father in lawe, and sayde: By the man yt oweth these, am I wt childe. And she sayde: Knowest thou whose is this signet, this bracelet & this staff?²⁶ Iuda knewe the, & sayde: She is more righteous the I, for I gaue hir not my sonne Sela: But he laye nomore with her.²⁷ Whan the tyme came that she shulde be delyuered, there were two twyns founde in hir wombe.²⁸ And as she was now in trauelynge, the one put out his hande. Then the mydwife toke and boude a reed threde aboute it, and saide: This shal come out first.²⁹ But whan he pluckte in his hande agayne, his brother came forth. And she sayde: Wherfore is there a rent mayde for thy sake? And he was called Phares.³⁰ Afterwarde came his brother forth, which had ye reed threde aboute his hande, and he was called Zarah.