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But Onan did not want Tamar to give birth to his child. He knew that the child would not belong to him. So when he had sex with his brother's wife Tamar, he made his semen go onto the ground. Onan did this so that Tamar would not give birth to a child for his dead brother.

10 What Onan did was bad, and the Lord was not pleased with him. So the Lord caused Onan to die too. 11 Then Judah said to his son's widow, Tamar, ‘Go back to your father's house and live there as a widow. Stay there until my son Shelah grows older.’ Judah thought, ‘I do not want Shelah to die in the way that his brothers died.’ So Tamar went to live in her father's house.

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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.(A)

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

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