Judah and Tamar
1 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.”
9 Onan knew the child would not be his, 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 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. 30 When the brother with the red thread was born, they named him Zerah.
Juda naTamar
1 Pethimbo ndyoka Juda okwa tembuka paamwahe nokwa ka kala pamwe nomulumentu, edhina lye Hira, gwokoshilando Adullam. 2 Oko nkoka i itsu omukadhona gwaShua, omulumentu Omukaanani. Okwe mu hokana, 3 e te mu valele omumati e te mu luku Er. 4 Okwa ningi ishewe omusimba e ta vala omumati nokwe mu luku Onan. 5 Okwa vala ishewe omumati e te mu luku Shela. Omumati nguka sho a valwa, Juda okwa li muKesib.
6 Juda okwa kongele osheeli she Er omukiintu edhina lye Tamar. 7 Er okwa li inaa opalela Omuwa, nomolwashoka Omuwa okwe mu etha a se. 8 Juda okwa lombwele omumwayina gwaEr Onan a ti: “Inda, u ka lale nomuselekadhi gwomumwanyoko. Gwanitha oshilonga shoye, opo omumwanyoko a kale e na oluvalo.” 9 Ihe okwa li e shi shi kutya uunona kau shi we, onkee shaa tuu a lala nomuselekadhi gwomumwayina, omasita goluvalo okwe ga sitamene pevi, opo kaaha valele omumwayina oluvalo. 10 Shika osha geyitha Omuwa e te mu dhipaga po ishewe. 11 Nena Juda okwa ti koshitenya she Tamar: “Shuna kaandjaho, u kale omuselekadhi, sigo omumwandje Shela ta koko.” Okwa popi ngaaka, oshoka a tila, pamwe Shela naye wo ota ka dhipagwa, ngaashi aamwayina ya ningwa. Tamar okwa shuna kaandjawo.
12 Konima yethimbo ele omukulukadhi gwaJuda, omuna gwaShua, okwa si. Oosa sho dha halakana, Juda nakuume ke Hira gwomuAdullam oya yi kuTimna, a ka kululithe oonzi dhe. 13 Yamwe oya lombwele Tamar kutya hemweno ota yi kuTimna, a ka kululithe oonzi dhe. 14 Tamar okwa hula mo oonguwo dhuuselekadhi e ta siikile oshipala she newiiwili e ta ka kuutumba posheelo shaEnaim, oshilando shi li pondjila yokuya kuTimna. Okwa li a tseya kutya onkelo yaJuda Shela oya koka, ihe ine mu pewa, e mu hokane po natango.
15 Juda sho e mu mono, okwa li e shi ohonda, oshoka okwa siikila oshipala she. 16 Okwa kanduka mondjila, a yi kuye e ta ti: “Ila, tu lale.” (Ine mu dhimbulula kutya oye oshitenya she.)
Tamar okwa ti: “Oto futu ndje shike?”
17 Juda okwa yamukula a ti: “Otandi ke ku tumina okakombwena komoshigunda shandje.”
Tamar okwa ti: “Eewa, ihe ongele to pe ndje ombambyona yi kale po, sigo wa tumu oshikombo.”
18 Juda okwa pula a ti: “Ombambyona oyashike?”
Tamar okwa yamukula a ti: “Okalinga koshihako shoye nongodhi yako nondhimbo ndjoka u na moshikaha shoye.” Okwe yi mu pe. Nena okwa lala naye e ta ningi ela. 19 Tamar okwa shuna kaandjawo e ti isuukulula ewiiwili nokwa zala oonguwo dhe dhuuselekadhi.
20 Juda okwa tumu kuume ke Hira, a fale oshikombo ye a etelele iinima yombambyona, ihe Hira ina mona Tamar. 21 Okwa pula aantu yopuEnaim ta ti: “Ohonda ndjiyaka ya li pondjila mpano, oyi li peni?”
Aantu oya yamukula ya ti: “Kapwa li ohonda yasha mpaka.”
22 Hira okwa shuna kuJuda e ta ti: “Inandi mu mona ko. Aantu otaa ti kutya kakwa li nando ohonda hwiyaka.”
23 Juda okwa ti: “Iinima mbyoka ne yi pungule. Inatu hala, aantu ye tu yole. Onda kambadhala oku mu futa, ihe ino mu mona ko.”
24 Sho pwa piti oomwedhi ndatu, Juda okwa lombwelwa taku tiwa: “Oshitenya shoye Tamar a pundukile moluhondelo noku na ela.” Juda okwa gandja elaka tali ti: “Mu pitithii mo, mu ke mu fike po a se.”
25 Sho a li ta pitithwa mo, okwa tumu elaka kuhemweno tali ti: “Epunda onde li pewa kumwene gwiinima mbika. Yi tala nawa, ngoye u mone kutya oyalye-okalinga koshihako nongodhi yako nondhimbo.”
26 Juda okwe yi dhimbulula e ta ti: “Oku li mondjila, ngame inandi mu gwanithila oshinakugwanithwa shandje, oshoka inandi mu pa omumwandje Shela, e mu hokane po.” Okuza mpoka Juda ina lala we naye.
27 Ethimbo lye lyokuvala sho lya thikana, osha holoka kutya ota ka vala epaha. 28 Manga a li ta thetwa, gumwe gwaakwanambwiyu okwa pititha mo okwaako; omuvalithi okwe ku kwata e te ku manga okangodhi okatiligane e ta ti: “Nguka osheeli.” 29 Ihe okwa shunitha mo okwaako kwe, omumwayina oye a valwa tango. Nena omuvalithi okwa ti: “Owa gwaya mo ngiini,” e te mu luku Perez. 30 Nena omumwayina okwa valwa e na ongodhi ontiligane poshikesho e te mu luku Sera.
