Beginning

38 In the same time, Judah went down from his brethren, and turned to a man of Adullam, Hirah by name; (At that time, Judah went forth from his brothers, and came to a man of Adullam, named Hirah;)

² and he saw there a daughter of a man of Canaan, Shuah by name. And when he had taken her to wife, he entered [in] to her (her slept with her),

³ and she conceived, and childed a son, and (he) called his name Er.

⁴ And again when another child was conceived, she named the child (that was) born, Onan.

⁵ And she childed the third son, whom she called Shelah, and when he was born, she ceased to bear child more (she ceased to bear any more children). (And she bare her third son, whom she called Shelah, when she was at Chezib.)

⁶ Soothly Judah gave a wife, that was called Tamar, to his first begotten son Er.

⁷ And Er, the first begotten son of Judah, was wayward in the sight of the Lord, and therefore he was slain of the Lord (and so the Lord killed him).

⁸ Therefore Judah said to Onan, his son, Enter thou [in] to the wife of thy brother, and be thou fellowshipped to her, that thou raise seed to thy brother. (And so Judah said to his son Onan, Sleep with thy brother’s wife, and be fellowshipped to her, and so raise thou up seed, or some sons, for thy brother.)

⁹ And he knew that sons should not be born to him; and he entered [in] to the wife of his brother, and shedded his seed into the earth, lest the free children should be born by the name of the dead brother; (But Onan knew that any sons who would be born would not be his; so he slept with his brother’s wife, but he poured out his seed onto the ground, so that no children would be born in the name of his dead brother;)

¹⁰ and therefore the Lord smote him (and so the Lord struck him down), for he did (an) abominable thing.

¹¹ Wherefore Judah said to Tamar, his son’s wife, Be thou a widow in the house of thy father, till Shelah my son waxed (until my son Shelah hath grown up); for he dreaded lest also he should die as his brethren (did). And (so) she went, and dwelled in the house of her father.

¹² Forsooth when many years were passed, the daughter of Shuah, Judah’s wife, died; and when comfort was taken after mourning, Judah went up to the shearers of his sheep (After many years had passed, Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shuah, died; and after mourning her, when comfort was taken, Judah went up to his sheep-shearers); (yea,) he and Hirah of Adullam, that was [the] keeper of the flock, went up into Timnath.

¹³ And it was told to Tamar, that her husband’s father went up into Timnath, to shear sheep.

¹⁴ And she did away the clothes of (her) widowhood, and she took a rochet cloth with many wrinkles, and when the clothing was changed, she sat in the way-lot that leadeth to Timnath; for Shelah had waxed, and she had not (yet) taken him into husband (for although Shelah was now a grown man, she had not been given to him for a wife).

¹⁵ And when Judah had seen her, he supposed her to be a whore; for she had covered her face, lest she was known.

¹⁶ And Judah entered to her, and said, Suffer me that I lie with thee (And Judah went over to her, and said, Let me lie with you); for he knew not that she was the wife of his son. And when she answered, What shalt thou give to me, that thou lie with me?

¹⁷ he said, I shall send to thee a kid of the flocks. And again when she said, I shall suffer that that thou wilt, if thou shalt give to me a wed, till thou send that that thou promisest. (he said, I shall send thee a goat kid from the flocks. And she said, I shall give thee what thou desirest, if thou shalt give me a pledge, until thou send what thou hast promised.)

¹⁸ Judah said, What wilt thou that be given to thee for a wed? She answered, Thy ring, and thy band of the arm, and the staff which thou holdest in thine hand. Therefore the woman conceived at one lying-by, (Judah said, What desirest thou to be given to thee for a pledge? She answered, Thy ring, and thy arm band, and the staff which thou holdest in thy hand. And so he gave them to her, and lay with her, and the woman conceived in one lying-by,)

¹⁹ and she rose (up), and went [away]; and when the cloth was put away which she had taken, she was clothed (once again) in the clothes of widowhood.

²⁰ Forsooth Judah sent a kid by his shepherd of Adullam, that he should receive the wed which he had given to the woman; and when he had not found her, (And Judah sent a goat kid by his shepherd from Adullam, so that he could receive back the pledge which he had given to the woman; and when Hirah could not find her,)

²¹ he asked men of that place, Where is the woman that sat in the way-lot? And when all (the) men answered, A whore was not in this place;

²² he turned again to Judah, and said to him, I found not her, but also the men of that place said to me, that a whore sat never there. (Hirah returned to Judah, and said to him, I could not find her, and the men of that place told me, that a whore never sat there.)

²³ Judah said, Have she (those things) to herself, that we be not despised, certainly she may not reprove us of a leasing; I sent the kid which I promised, and thou foundest not her. (And Judah said, Let her have those things for herself, so that we be not despised, certainly she cannot rebuke us for lying; I sent the goat kid which I promised, but thou could not find her.)

²⁴ Lo! soothly after three months they told to Judah, and said, Tamar, thy son’s wife, hath done fornication, and her womb seemeth to wax great. Judah said, Bring her forth, (so) that she (can) be burnt(!).

²⁵ And when she was led (out) to her pain, she sent to her husband’s father, and said, I have conceived of the man, whose these things be; know thou whose is the ring, and the band of the arm, and the staff? (And when she was led out to her punishment, she sent to her husband’s father, and said, I have conceived by the man whose these things be; know thou whose ring, and arm band, and staff these be?)

²⁶ And when the gifts were known, Judah said, She is more just than I, for I gave not her to Shelah, my son; nevertheless Judah knew her no more fleshly. (And when the gifts were seen, Judah said, She is more in the right than I am, for I did not give her to my son Shelah; but Judah did not know her fleshly any more.)

²⁷ Soothly when the childbearing nighed, two children appeared in the womb,

²⁸ and in that birth of the children, one put forth the hand, in which hand the midwife bound a red thread, and said, This shall go out before. (and during the birth of the children, one put out his hand, and the midwife tied a red thread on his wrist, and said, This one shall go out first.)

²⁹ Soothly while he withdrew the hand, the tother went out, and the woman said, Why, was the skin in which the child lay in the womb parted for thee? And for this cause she called his name Pharez. (But then he withdrew his hand, and the other one came out first, and the woman said to him, Was the skin in which the children lay in the womb, broken for thee to come out first? And for this reason she named him Perez, that is, Breaking out.)

³⁰ Afterward his brother went out, in whose hand was the red thread, whom she called Zarah. (And afterward his brother came out, with the red thread tied about his wrist, and she called him Zarah, that is, Redness.)

39 Therefore Joseph was led into Egypt, and Potiphar, a gelding of Pharaoh, prince of the host, a man of Egypt, bought him of the hand of Ishmaelites, of which he was brought thither. (And so Joseph was taken down to Egypt, and Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s eunuchs, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites, who had brought him there.)

² And the Lord was with him, and he was a man doing with prosperity in all things (and made him prosperous in all things). And Joseph dwelled in the house of his lord,

³ which knew full well that the Lord was with Joseph, and that all things which he did, were (ad)dressed of the Lord in his hand. (who knew full well that the Lord was with Joseph, and that all the things which he did were directed by the hand of the Lord.)

⁴ And Joseph found grace before his lord, and he served him, of whom Joseph was made sovereign of all things (who made Joseph the ruler over all his things), and he governed the house betaken to him, and all (the) things that were betaken to him.

⁵ And the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph, and multiplied all his chattel, as well in houses, as in fields; (And the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s household for Joseph’s sake, and multiplied his possessions, yea, all that he had in his house, and all that he had in his fields;)

⁶ neither he knew any other thing, but [the] bread which he ate. Forsooth Joseph was fair in face, and shapely in sight.

⁷ And so after many days the lady (of his lord) cast her eyes into Joseph, and said, Sleep thou with me; (And so after many days the lady of his lord cast her eyes upon Joseph, and said, Lie thou with me;)

⁸ which assented not to the unleaveful work, and said to her, Lo! while all things be betaken to me, my lord wot not what he hath in his house, (who assented not to the unlawful deed, and said to her, Lo! while he hath entrusted all his things to me, my lord knoweth not what he hath in his own house,)

⁹ neither anything is, which is not in my power, either which he hath not betaken to me, except thee, which art his wife; how therefore may I do this evil, and do sin against my lord? (and there is nothing, which is not in my power, or which he hath not entrusted to me, except thee, who art his wife; and so how can I do this evil thing, and sin against God?/and sin against the Lord?)

¹⁰ They spake such words by all days/by long time, and the woman was dis-easeful to the young man, and he forsook the adultery. (They spoke such words for a long time, and the woman distressed the young man, but he forsook the adultery.)

¹¹ Forsooth it befelled in a day, that Joseph entered into the house, and did some work without witnesses.

¹² And she took the hem of his cloth, and she said, Sleep thou with me; and he left the mantle in her hand, and he fled, and went out. (And she took hold of the hem of his cloak, and said, Lie thou with me; and he left the cloak in her hands, and he fled away.)

¹³ And when the woman had seen the cloak in her hands, and that she was despised,

¹⁴ she called to her the men of her house, and said to them, Lo! my lord hath brought in an Hebrew man, that he should scorn us; he entered to me to do lechery with me, and when I cried, (she called the men of the household to her, and said to them, Lo! my lord hath brought in a Hebrew man, and he hath scorned us; yea, he entered to do lechery with me, and when I cried out,)

¹⁵ and he heard my voice, he left the mantle which I held, and he fled out. (and he heard my voice, he left his cloak which I held onto, and he fled away.)

¹⁶ Therefore into proving of the truth, she showed the mantle, that she held, to her husband turning again home. (And so to prove the truth of it all, she showed his cloak, which she had held onto, to her husband when he returned home.)

¹⁷ And she said (to him), The Hebrew servant, whom thou broughtest in, entered to me to scorn me (came to me, and mocked me);

¹⁸ and when he saw me cry, he left the mantle that I held, and he fled out. (and when I cried out, he left his cloak which I held onto, and he fled away.)

¹⁹ And when these things were heard, the lord believed over much to the words of the wife (the lord believed too much in his wife’s words), and he was full wroth;

²⁰ and he betook Joseph into prison, where the bound men of the king were kept, and he was closed there. (and he took Joseph, and put him in the prison, where the king’s prisoners were kept, and so he was enclosed there.)

²¹ Forsooth the Lord was with Joseph, and had mercy on him, and gave grace to him, in the sight of the prince of the prison (before the ruler, that is, the warden, of the prison),

²² which betook in the hand of Joseph all the prisoners that were holden in keeping, and whatever thing was done, it was done under Joseph, (who put all the other prisoners, who were held in the prison, under Joseph’s hand, or power, and whatever thing was done, it was done under Joseph’s direction,)

²³ neither the prince knew anything (and the ruler of the prison had no further concerns), for all things were betaken to Joseph; for the Lord was with him, and directed all his works.

40 When these things were done, it befelled that two geldings, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, sinned to their lord. (After these things were done, it befell that two eunuchs, Pharaoh’s butler and baker, sinned against their lord.)

² And Pharaoh was wroth against them, for the one was (the) master butler, and the tother was (the) master baker.

³ And he sent them into the prison of the prince of knights, in which also Joseph was bound. (And he sent them into the prison of the captain of the guard, where Joseph was also kept.)

⁴ And the keeper of the prison betook them to Joseph, which also served, or kept, them. Somewhat of time passed, and they were holden in keeping, (And the ruler of the prison delivered them unto Joseph, who served them. Some time passed, and they were still held in the prison,)

⁵ and both saw a dream in one night, by covenable expounding to them. (when both of them had a dream one night, and they needed their dreams to be interpreted.)

⁶ And when Joseph had entered to them early, and had seen them sorry, (And when Joseph came to them in the morning, and saw them looking sorrowful, or sad,)

⁷ he asked them, and said, Why is your cheer heavier today than it is wont (to be)? (he asked them, Why are your faces so heavy, or so unhappy, today?)

⁸ Which answered, We (each) saw a dream, and there is no man that expoundeth it to us. And Joseph said to them, Whether the expounding is not of God? Tell ye to me what ye have seen. (And they answered, We have each had a dream, and there is no one to interpret it for us. And Joseph said to them, Should not the interpretation come from God? Tell me what ye have seen.)

⁹ The master butler told first his dream; I saw before me that a vine, (So the master butler told his dream first, and he said, I saw that there was a vine before me,)

¹⁰ in which were three scions, waxed little and little into burgeonings, and that after the flowers (came), the grapes waxed ripe, (which had three branches, that over time had more and more buds, and after the flowers came, the grapes ripened,)

¹¹ and (then) the cup of Pharaoh was in mine hand; therefore I took the grapes, and pressed them out into the cup that I held, and I gave (the) drink to Pharaoh (and I gave it to Pharaoh to drink).

¹² Joseph answered, This is the expounding of the dream; three scions be yet three days, (Joseph answered, This is the dream’s interpretation; the three branches be three days yet to come,)

¹³ after which Pharaoh shall have mind of thy service, and he shall restore thee into the first degree, and thou shalt give to him the cup, by thine office, as thou were wont to do before. (and then Pharaoh shall remember thy service, and he shall restore thee to thy place, and thou shalt give him the cup, as per thy duties, yea, as thou were wont to do before.)

¹⁴ Only have thou mind of me, when it is well to thee, and thou shalt do mercy with me, that thou make suggestion to Pharaoh, that he lead me out of this prison; (And when it is well with thee, remember me, and do thou mercy to me, so that thou make a suggestion to Pharaoh, that he release me from this prison;)

¹⁵ for thiefly, (that is, by thievery), I am taken away from the land of Hebrews, and (once) here I am sent innocent into prison. (for I was stolen away from the land of the Hebrews, and then once here, I was sent into prison, though innocent.)

¹⁶ The master baker saw that Joseph had declared prudently the dream, and he said, And I saw a dream, that I had three baskets of meal on mine head, (The master baker saw that Joseph had prudently interpreted the dream, and he said, And I had a dream, where I had three baskets of meal on my head,)

¹⁷ and I guessed that I bare in one basket, that was highest, all (the) (bake)meats that be made (for Pharaoh) by the craft of bakers, and that birds ate thereof. (and I saw that I carried in the first basket, that was on top, all the baked goods that the baker made for Pharaoh, and the birds were eating them.)

¹⁸ Joseph answered, This is the expounding of the dream; three baskets be yet three days, (Joseph answered, This is the dream’s interpretation; the three baskets be three days yet to come,)

¹⁹ after which Pharaoh shall take away thine head, and he shall hang thee in a cross, and birds shall draw thy flesh. (after which Pharaoh shall take away thy head, and he shall hang thee on a tree, and then the birds shall draw off thy flesh.)

²⁰ From thence the third day was the day of the birth of Pharaoh, which made a great feast to his servants, and he had mind among the meats, of the master butler, and of the prince of (the) bakers; (And three days later was Pharaoh’s birthday, and he made a great feast for his servants, and during the feast he remembered the master butler, and the master baker;)

²¹ and he restored the one into his place, (so) that he should direct the cup, either (the) drink, to the king,

²² and he hanged the tother in a gibbet, that the truth of Joseph(’s) declaring (of) the dreams should be proved. (but he hanged the other man on a tree, and so the truth of Joseph’s interpretations of the dreams was shown.)

²³ And nevertheless when prosperities befelled to the master butler, he forgat Joseph that declared his dream. (And yet when good things happened to the master butler, he forgot about Joseph, who had interpreted his dream.)