创世记 38
Chinese New Version (Traditional)
猶大和他瑪
38 那時，猶大離開他的眾兄弟下去，到一個亞杜蘭人的家裡居住，那人名叫希拉。 2 猶大在那裡看見迦南人書亞的女兒，就娶了她，與她親近。 3 她就懷了孕，生了一個兒子，猶大給他起名叫珥。 4 她又懷孕，生了一個兒子，給他起名叫俄南。 5 她再懷孕，又生了一個兒子，就給他起名叫示拉。她生示拉的時候，猶大正在基悉。
6 猶大為自己的長子珥娶妻，名叫他瑪。 7 猶大的長子珥，在耶和華眼中是個惡人，所以耶和華取去他的性命。 8 於是猶大對俄南說：“你去與你哥哥的妻子親近，向她盡你作弟弟的本分，替你的哥哥立後。” 9 俄南知道生下來的孩子不會歸自己，所以每次與哥哥的妻子親近的時候，都遺精在地上，免得替自己的哥哥立後。 10 俄南所作的，在耶和華眼中是件惡事，所以耶和華也取去他的性命。 11 於是，猶大對他的媳婦他瑪說：“你回到你父親家裡去守寡，等我的兒子示拉長大。”因為他心裡想：“恐怕示拉也像他兩個哥哥一樣死去。”他瑪就回去，住在她父親的家裡。
12 過了很多日子，猶大的妻子，書亞的女兒死了。守喪的時間過了以後，猶大就和他的朋友亞杜蘭人希拉上亭拿去，到替他羊群剪毛的人那裡。 13 有人告訴他瑪說：“你的公公現在上亭拿去剪羊毛。” 14 他瑪見示拉已經長大了，還沒有娶她為妻，就脫去守寡的衣服，用帕子蒙臉，遮蔽自己，坐在亭拿路上，伊拿印的城門口。 15 猶大看見她，以為她是個妓女，因為她蒙著臉。 16 猶大就過到她那邊去，說：“來吧，讓我與你親近。”原來他不知道她就是自己的媳婦。他瑪說：“你與我親近要給我甚麼呢？” 17 猶大說：“我從羊群中拿一隻小山羊送給你。”他瑪說：“在你沒有送來以前，你可以留些東西作為保證嗎？” 18 猶大問：“你要我給你甚麼作保證呢？”他瑪回答：“你的印戒，連同印的帶子，以及你手裡的杖。”猶大就給了她，與她親近，她就從猶大懷了孕。 19 他瑪起來走了，脫去帕子，再穿上守寡的衣服。
20 猶大託自己的朋友亞杜蘭人，把一隻小山羊送去，要從那女人手中取回保證物，卻找不著她。 21 希拉問那地方的人說：“伊拿印路旁的妓女在哪裡呢？”他們回答：“這裡是沒有妓女的。” 22 那人回去見猶大，說：“我找不著她，並且那地的人都說：‘這裡是沒有妓女的。’” 23 猶大說：“那些東西任她拿去吧，免得我們被人嗤笑。我已經把這小山羊送了去，可是你找不著她。”
他瑪生雙生子
24 大約過了三個月，有人告訴猶大說：“你的媳婦他瑪作了妓女，並且因此懷了孕。”猶大說：“把她拉出來，燒死她。” 25 他瑪被拉出來的時候，派人去見她的公公說：“這些東西是誰的，我就是從誰懷了孕。”她又說：“請你認一認，這印戒、印的帶子和手杖是誰的？” 26 猶大認出那些東西，就說：“她比我更有理，因為我沒有把她給我的兒子示拉為妻。”從此猶大就不再與她親近了。
27 到了他瑪將要生產的時候，腹中竟是一對雙胎。 28 她正在生產的時候，一個孩子伸出一隻手來。接生婆拿了一根朱紅線，繫在他的手上，說：“這一個是先出生的。” 29 他把手收回去的時候，他的哥哥就出來了。接生婆說：“你為甚麼搶著出來呢？”因此，給他起名叫法勒斯。 30 接著，手上繫著一根朱紅線的弟弟也出來了。因此，給他起名叫謝拉。
Genesis 38
Contemporary English Version
Judah and Tamar
38 About that time Judah left his brothers in the hill country and went to live near his friend Hirah in the town of Adullam. 2 While there he met the daughter of Shua, a Canaanite man. Judah married her, 3 and they had three sons. He named the first one Er; 4 she named the next one Onan. 5 The third one was born when Judah was in Chezib, and she named him Shelah.
6 Later, Judah chose Tamar as a wife for Er, his oldest son. 7 But Er was very evil, and the Lord took his life. 8 So Judah told Onan, “It's your duty to marry Tamar and have a child for your brother.”[a]
9 Onan knew the child would not be his,[b] and when he had sex with Tamar, he made sure that she would not get pregnant. 10 The Lord wasn't pleased with Onan and took his life too.
11 Judah did not want the same thing to happen to his son Shelah, and he told Tamar, “Go home to your father and live there as a widow until my son Shelah is grown.” So Tamar went to live with her father.
12 Some years later Judah's wife died, and he mourned for her. He then went with his friend Hirah to the town of Timnah, where his sheep were being sheared. 13 Tamar found out that her father-in-law Judah was going to Timnah to shear his sheep. 14 She also realized that Shelah was now a grown man, but she had not been allowed to marry him. So she decided to dress in something other than her widow's clothes and to cover her face with a veil. After this, she sat outside the town of Enaim on the road to Timnah.
15 When Judah came along, he did not recognize her because of the veil. He thought she was a prostitute 16 and asked her to sleep with him. She asked, “What will you give me if I do?”
17 “One of my young goats,” he answered.
“What will you give me to keep until you send the goat?” she asked.
18 “What do you want?” he asked in return.
“The ring on that cord around your neck,” was her reply. “I also want the special walking stick[c] you have with you.” He gave them to her, they slept together, and she became pregnant.
19 After returning home, Tamar took off the veil and dressed in her widow's clothes again.
20 Judah asked his friend Hirah take a goat to the woman, so he could get back the ring and walking stick, but she wasn't there. 21 Hirah asked the people of Enaim, “Where is the prostitute who sat along the road outside your town?”
“There's never been one here,” they answered.
22 Hirah went back and told Judah, “I couldn't find the woman, and the people of Enaim said no prostitute had ever been there.”
23 “If you couldn't find her, we'll just let her keep the things I gave her,” Judah answered. “And we'd better forget about the goat, or else we'll look like fools.”
24 About three months later someone told Judah, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has behaved like a prostitute, and now she's pregnant!”
“Drag her out of town and burn her to death!” Judah shouted.
25 As Tamar was being dragged off, she sent someone to tell her father-in-law, “The man who gave me this ring, this cord, and this walking stick is the one who got me pregnant.”
26 “Those are mine!” Judah admitted. “She's a better person than I am, because I broke my promise to let her marry my son Shelah.” After this, Judah never slept with her again.
27-28 Tamar later gave birth to twins. But before either of them was born, one of them stuck a hand out of her womb. The woman who was helping tied a red thread around the baby's hand and explained, “This one came out first.”
29 At once his hand went back in, and the other child was born first. The woman then said, “What an opening you've made for yourself!” So they named the baby Perez.[d] 30 When the brother with the red thread was born, they named him Zerah.[e]
Footnotes
- 38.8 It's your duty … child … brother: If a man died without having children, his brother was to marry the dead man's wife and have a child, who was to be considered the child of the dead brother (see Deuteronomy 25.5,6).
- 38.9 the child … not be his: When Judah died, Onan would get his dead brother's share of the inheritance, but if his dead brother had a son, the inheritance would go to him instead.
- 38.18 ring … walking stick: The ring was shaped like a cylinder and could be rolled over soft clay as a way of sealing special documents. The walking stick was probably a symbol of power and the sign of leadership in the tribe, though it may have been a shepherd's rod.
- 38.29 Perez: In Hebrew “Perez” sounds like “opening.”
- 38.30 Zerah: In Hebrew “Zerah” means “bright,” probably referring to the red thread.
Chinese New Version (CNV). Copyright © 1976, 1992, 1999, 2001, 2005 by Worldwide Bible Society.
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
