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 and went in to her. ³ So she conceived and bore a son and he named him ^(C)Er. ⁴ Then she conceived again and bore a son and named him ^(D)Onan. ⁵ She bore still another son and named him ^(E)Shelah; and it was at Chezib ^[c]that she bore 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)Go in to your brother’s wife, and perform your duty as a brother-in-law to her, and raise up ^[d]offspring for your brother.” ⁹ Onan knew that the ^[e](H)offspring would not be his; so when he went in to his brother’s wife, he ^[f]wasted his seed on the ground in order not to give ^[g]offspring to his brother. ¹⁰ But what he did was displeasing in the sight of the Lord; so He ^(I)took his life also. ¹¹ Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “^(J)Remain a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah grows up”; for he ^[h]thought, “I am afraid that he too may die like his brothers.” So Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.

¹² Now ^[i]after a considerable time Shua’s daughter, the wife of Judah, died; and when ^[j]the time of mourning was ended, Judah went up to his sheepshearers at ^(K)Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. ¹³ It was told to Tamar, “^[k]Behold, your father-in-law is going up to ^(L)Timnah to shear his sheep.” ¹⁴ So she ^[l]removed her widow’s garments and ^(M)covered herself with a ^[m]veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the gateway of ^[n]Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah had grown up, and ^(N)she had not been given to him as a wife. ¹⁵ When Judah saw her, he thought she was a harlot, for she had covered her face. ¹⁶ So he turned aside to her by the road, and said, “^[o]Here now, let me come in to you”; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?” ¹⁷ He said, therefore, “I will send you a ^[p]young goat from the flock.” She said, moreover, “Will you give a pledge until you send it?” ¹⁸ He said, “What pledge shall I give you?” And she said, “^(O)Your seal and your cord, and your staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she conceived by him. ¹⁹ Then she arose and departed, and ^[q]removed her ^[r]veil and put on her widow’s garments.

²⁰ When Judah sent the ^[s]young goat by his friend the Adullamite, to receive the pledge from the woman’s hand, he did not find her. ²¹ He asked the men of her place, saying, “Where is the temple prostitute who was by the road at Enaim?” But they said, “There has been no temple prostitute here.” ²² So he returned to Judah, and said, “I did not find her; and furthermore, the men of the place said, ‘There has been no temple prostitute here.’” ²³ Then Judah said, “Let her ^[t]keep them, otherwise we will become a laughingstock. ^[u]After all, I sent this young goat, but you did not find her.”

²⁴ Now it was about three months later that Judah was informed, “^[v]Your daughter-in-law Tamar has played the harlot, and behold, she is also with child by harlotry.” Then Judah said, “Bring her out and ^(P)let her be burned!” ²⁵ It was while she was being brought out that she sent to her father-in-law, saying, “I am with child by the man to whom these things belong.” And she said, “^(Q)Please examine and see, whose signet ring and cords and staff are these?” ²⁶ Judah recognized them, and said, “^(R)She is more righteous than I, inasmuch as ^(S)I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not ^[w]have relations with her again.

²⁷ It came about at the time she was giving birth, that behold, there were ^(T)twins in her womb. ²⁸ Moreover, it took place while she was giving birth, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” ²⁹ But it came about as he drew back his hand, that behold, his brother came out. Then she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” So he was named ^[x](U)Perez. ³⁰ Afterward his brother came out who had the scarlet thread on his hand; and he was named ^[y](V)Zerah.

Praise to the Creator and Preserver.

Peter’s Confession of Christ

^13 (A)Now when Jesus came into the district of ^(B)Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that ^(C)the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴ And they said, “Some say ^(D)John the Baptist; and others, ^[a](E)Elijah; but still others, ^[b]Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ He *said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are ^[c](F)the Christ, ^(G)the Son of ^(H)the living God.” ¹⁷ And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, ^(I)Simon ^[d]Barjona, because ^(J)flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ I also say to you that you are ^[e](K)Peter, and upon this ^[f]rock I will build My church; and the gates of ^(L)Hades will not overpower it. ¹⁹ I will give you ^(M)the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and ^(N)whatever you bind on earth ^[g]shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth ^[h]shall have been loosed in heaven.” ^20 (O)Then He ^[i]warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was ^[j](P)the Christ.

Jesus Foretells His Death

^21 (Q)From that time ^[k]Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and ^(R)suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. ²² Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “^[l]God forbid it, Lord! This shall never ^[m]happen to You.” ²³ But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, ^(S)Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on ^[n]God’s interests, but man’s.”

Discipleship Is Costly

²⁴ Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and ^(T)take up his cross and follow Me. ²⁵ For ^(U)whoever wishes to save his ^[o]life will lose it; but whoever loses his ^[p]life for My sake will find it. ²⁶ For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? ²⁷ For the ^(V)Son of Man ^(W)is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and ^(X)will then ^[q]repay every man according to his ^[r]deeds.

²⁸ “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the ^(Y)Son of Man ^(Z)coming in His kingdom.”