¹ And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.

² And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah; and he took her, and went in to her.

³ And she conceived, and bore a son; and he called his name Er.

⁴ And she conceived again, and bore a son; and she called his name Onan.

⁵ And she yet again conceived, and bore a son; and called his name Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bore him.

⁶ And Judah took a wife for Er his first-born, whose name was Tamar.

⁷ And Er, Judah's first-born, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him.

⁸ And Judah said to Onan, Go in to thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother.

⁹ And Onan knew that the seed would not be his: and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother's wife, that he frustrated the purpose, lest he should give seed to his brother.

¹⁰ And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also.

¹¹ Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter-in-law, Remain a widow at thy father's house, till Shelah my son shall be grown; (for he said, Lest perhaps he die also as his brethren did:) and Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house.

¹² And in process of time, the daughter of Shuah Judah's wife died: and Judah was comforted, and went up to his sheep-shearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.

¹³ And it was told to Tamar, saying, Behold, thy father-in-law goeth up to Timnath, to shear his sheep.

¹⁴ And she put off from her, her widow's garments, and covered her with a vail, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath: for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given to him for a wife.

¹⁵ When Judah saw her, he thought her to be a harlot; because she had covered her face.

¹⁶ And he turned to her by the way, and said, Come, I pray thee, let me have access to thee; (for he knew not that she was his daughter-in-law:) and she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayst have access to me?

¹⁷ And he said, I will send thee a kid from the flock: and she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou sendest it?

¹⁸ And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? and she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thy hand: and he gave them to her, and came in to her, and she conceived by him.

¹⁹ And she arose and went her way and laid by her vail from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood.

²⁰ And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman's hand: but he found her not.

²¹ Then he asked the men of that place, saying, where is the harlot that was openly by the way-side? and they said, There was no harlot in this place.

²² And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her; and also the men of the place said, that there was no harlot in this place.

²³ And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.

²⁴ And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told to Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter-in-law hath played the harlot; and also, behold she is with child by lewdness: and Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.

²⁵ When she was brought forth, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, By the man whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff.

²⁶ And Judah acknowledged them, and said She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son: and he knew her again no more.

²⁷ And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that behold, twins were in her womb.

²⁸ And it came to pass when she travailed, that the one put out his hand; and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first.

²⁹ And it came to pass as he drew back his hand, that behold, his brother came out; and she said, How hast thou broken forth? this breach be upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez.

³⁰ And afterwards came out his brother that had the scarlet thread upon his hand; and his name was called Zarah.

²¹ "You have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, 'You shall not murder;' and 'Whoever shall murder shall be in danger of the judgment.'

²² But I tell you, that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment; and whoever shall say to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council; and whoever shall say, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of the fire of Gehenna.

²³ "If therefore you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has anything against you,

²⁴ leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

²⁵ Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are with him in the way; lest perhaps the prosecutor deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be cast into prison.

²⁶ Most certainly I tell you, you shall by no means get out of there, until you have paid the last penny.

²⁷ "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery;'

²⁸ but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.

²⁹ If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna.

³⁰ If your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off, and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna.

³¹ "It was also said, 'Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorce,'

³² but I tell you that whoever puts away his wife, except for the cause of sexual immorality, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries her when she is put away commits adultery.

³³ "Again you have heard that it was said to them of old time, 'You shall not make false vows, but shall perform to the Lord your vows,'

³⁴ but I tell you, don't swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God;

³⁵ nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.

³⁶ Neither shall you swear by your head, for you can't make one hair white or black.

³⁷ But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes' and your 'No' be 'No.' Whatever is more than these is of the evil one.

³⁸ "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.'

³⁹ But I tell you, don't resist him who is evil; but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.

⁴⁰ If anyone sues you to take away your coat, let him have your cloak also.

⁴¹ Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.

⁴² Give to him who asks you, and don't turn away him who desires to borrow from you.

⁴³ "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.'

⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you,

⁴⁵ that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.

⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Don't even the tax collectors do the same?

⁴⁷ If you only greet your friends, what more do you do than others? Don't even the tax collectors do the same?

⁴⁸ Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.