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Genesis 38:1-10
King James Version
Genesis 38:1-10
King James Version
38 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 unto her.
3 And she conceived, and bare a son; and he called his name Er.
4 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and she called his name Onan.
5 And she yet again conceived, and bare a son; and called his name Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bare him.
6 And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar.
7 And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord slew him.
8 And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother.
9 And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother.
10 And the thing which he did displeased the Lord: wherefore he slew him also.
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Genesis 38:1-10
New International Version
Genesis 38:1-10
New International Version
Judah and Tamar
38 At that time, Judah(A) left his brothers and went down to stay with a man of Adullam(B) named Hirah.(C) 2 There Judah met the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua.(D) He married her and made love to her; 3 she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, who was named Er.(E) 4 She conceived again and gave birth to a son and named him Onan.(F) 5 She gave birth to still another son and named him Shelah.(G) It was at Kezib that she gave birth to him.
6 Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.(H) 7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the Lord’s sight;(I) so the Lord put him to death.(J)
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.”(K) 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.(L)
Genesis 38:1-10
New King James Version
Genesis 38:1-10
New King James Version
Judah and Tamar
38 It came to pass at that time that Judah departed from his brothers, and (A)visited a certain Adullamite whose name was Hirah. 2 And Judah (B)saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was (C)Shua, and he married her and went in to her. 3 So she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name (D)Er. 4 She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name (E)Onan. 5 And she conceived yet again and bore a son, and called his name (F)Shelah. He was at Chezib when she bore him.
6 Then Judah (G)took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was (H)Tamar. 7 But (I)Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, (J)and the Lord killed him. 8 And Judah said to Onan, “Go in to (K)your brother’s wife and marry her, and raise up an heir to your brother.” 9 But Onan knew that the heir would not be (L)his; and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother’s wife, that he emitted on the ground, lest he should give an heir to his brother. 10 And the thing which he did [a]displeased the Lord; therefore He killed (M)him also.
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- Genesis 38:10 Lit. was evil in the eyes of
Genesis 38:1-10
English Standard Version
Genesis 38:1-10
English Standard Version
Judah and Tamar
38 It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and (A)turned aside to a certain (B)Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. 2 There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was (C)Shua. He took her and went in to her, 3 and she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name (D)Er. 4 She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name (E)Onan. 5 Yet again she bore a son, and she called his name (F)Shelah. Judah[a] was in Chezib when she bore him.
6 And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. 7 But Er, Judah's firstborn, (G)was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death. 8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to (H)your brother's wife and (I)perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.” 9 But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his. So whenever he went in to his brother's wife he would waste the semen on the ground, so as not to give offspring to his brother. 10 And what he did was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death also.
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- Genesis 38:5 Hebrew He
Genesis 38:1-10
New American Standard Bible
Genesis 38:1-10
New American Standard Bible
Judah and Tamar
38 And it came about at that time, that Judah [a]departed from his brothers and [b]visited a certain (A)Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. 2 Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was (B)Shua; and he took her as a wife and had relations with her. 3 And she conceived and gave birth to a son, and he named him (C)Er. 4 Then she conceived again and gave birth to a son, and she named him (D)Onan. 5 She gave birth to yet another son and named him (E)Shelah; and it was at Chezib [c]that she gave birth to him.
6 Now Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. 7 But (F)Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord took his life. 8 Then Judah said to Onan, “(G)Have relations with your brother’s wife and perform your duty as a brother-in-law to her, and raise up a [d]child for your brother.” 9 Now Onan knew that the [e](H)child would not be his; so when he had relations with his brother’s wife, he [f]wasted his seed on the ground so that he would not give [g]a child to his brother. 10 But what he did was displeasing in the sight of the Lord; so He (I)took his life also.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 38:1 Lit went down
- Genesis 38:1 Lit turned aside to
- Genesis 38:5 Lit when
- Genesis 38:8 Lit seed
- Genesis 38:9 Lit seed
- Genesis 38:9 Lit spilled on the ground
- Genesis 38:9 Lit seed
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.