Judah and Tamar

¹About that time Judah left his brothers and went to stay with a man named Hirah, who was from the town of Adullam.

²There Judah met a young Canaanite woman whose father was named Shua. He married her,

³and she bore him a son, whom he named Er.

⁴She became pregnant again and bore another son and named him Onan.

⁵Again she had a son and named him Shelah. Judah was at Achzib when the boy was born.

⁶For his first son Er, Judah got a wife whose name was Tamar.

⁷Er's conduct was evil, and it displeased the Lord, so the Lord killed him.

⁸Then Judah said to Er's brother Onan, “Go and sleep with your brother's widow. Fulfill your obligation to her as her husband's brother, so that your brother may have descendants.”

⁹But Onan knew that the children would not belong to him, so when he had intercourse with his brother's widow, he let the semen spill on the ground, so that there would be no children for his brother.

¹⁰What he did displeased the Lord, and the Lord killed him also.

¹¹Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Return to your father's house and remain a widow until my son Shelah grows up.” He said this because he was afraid that Shelah would be killed, as his brothers had been. So Tamar went back home.

¹²After some time Judah's wife died. When he had finished the time of mourning, he and his friend Hirah of Adullam went to Timnah, where his sheep were being sheared.

¹³Someone told Tamar that her father-in-law was going to Timnah to shear his sheep.

¹⁴So she changed from the widow's clothes she had been wearing, covered her face with a veil, and sat down at the entrance to Enaim, a town on the road to Timnah. As she well knew, Judah's youngest son Shelah was now grown up, and yet she had not been given to him in marriage.

¹⁵When Judah saw her, he thought that she was a prostitute, because she had her face covered.

¹⁶He went over to her at the side of the road and said, “All right, how much do you charge?” (He did not know that she was his daughter-in-law.) She said, “What will you give me?”

¹⁷He answered, “I will send you a young goat from my flock.” She said, “All right, if you will give me something to keep as a pledge until you send the goat.”

¹⁸“What shall I give you as a pledge?” he asked. She answered, “Your seal with its cord and the walking stick you are carrying.” He gave them to her. Then they had intercourse, and she became pregnant.

¹⁹Tamar went home, took off her veil, and put her widow's clothes back on.

²⁰Judah sent his friend Hirah to take the goat and get back from the woman the articles he had pledged, but Hirah could not find her.

²¹He asked some men at Enaim, “Where is the prostitute who was here by the road?” “There has never been a prostitute here,” they answered.

²²He returned to Judah and said, “I couldn't find her. The men of the place said that there had never been a prostitute there.”

²³Judah said, “Let her keep the things. We don't want people to laugh at us. I did try to pay her, but you couldn't find her.”

²⁴About three months later someone told Judah, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has been acting like a whore, and now she is pregnant.” Judah ordered, “Take her out and burn her to death.”

²⁵As she was being taken out, she sent word to her father-in-law: “I am pregnant by the man who owns these things. Look at them and see whose they are—this seal with its cord and this walking stick.”

²⁶Judah recognized them and said, “She is in the right. I have failed in my obligation to her—I should have given her to my son Shelah in marriage.” And Judah never had intercourse with her again.

²⁷When the time came for her to give birth, it was discovered that she was going to have twins.

²⁸While she was in labor, one of them put out an arm; the midwife caught it, tied a red thread around it, and said, “This one was born first.”

²⁹But he pulled his arm back, and his brother was born first. Then the midwife said, “So this is how you break your way out!” So he was named Perez.

³⁰Then his brother was born with the red thread on his arm, and he was named Zerah.

Job's Final Statement of His Case

¹Job began speaking again.

Job

²If only my life could once again be as it was when God watched over me.

³God was always with me then and gave me light as I walked through the darkness.

⁴Those were the days when I was prosperous, and the friendship of God protected my home.

⁵Almighty God was with me then, and I was surrounded by all my children.

⁶My cows and goats gave plenty of milk, and my olive trees grew in the rockiest soil.

⁷Whenever the city elders met and I took my place among them,

⁸young men stepped aside as soon as they saw me, and old men stood up to show me respect.

⁹The leaders of the people would stop talking;

¹⁰even the most important men kept silent.

¹¹Everyone who saw me or heard of me had good things to say about what I had done.

¹²When the poor cried out, I helped them; I gave help to orphans who had nowhere to turn.

¹³People who were in deepest misery praised me, and I helped widows find security.

¹⁴I have always acted justly and fairly.

¹⁵I was eyes for the blind, and feet for the lame.

¹⁶I was like a father to the poor and took the side of strangers in trouble.

¹⁷I destroyed the power of cruel men and rescued their victims.

¹⁸I always expected to live a long life and to die at home in comfort.

¹⁹I was like a tree whose roots always have water and whose branches are wet with dew.

²⁰Everyone was always praising me, and my strength never failed me.

²¹When I gave advice, people were silent and listened carefully to what I said;

²²they had nothing to add when I had finished. My words sank in like drops of rain;

²³everyone welcomed them just as farmers welcome rain in spring.

²⁴I smiled on them when they had lost confidence; my cheerful face encouraged them.

²⁵I took charge and made the decisions; I led them as a king leads his troops, and gave them comfort in their despair.

¹But men younger than I am make fun of me now! Their fathers have always been so worthless that I wouldn't let them help my dogs guard sheep.

²They were a bunch of worn-out men, too weak to do any work for me.

³They were so poor and hungry that they would gnaw dry roots— at night, in wild, desolate places.

⁴They pulled up the plants of the desert and ate them, even the tasteless roots of the broom tree!

⁵Everyone drove them away with shouts, as if they were shouting at thieves.

⁶They had to live in caves, in holes dug in the sides of cliffs.

⁷Out in the wilds they howled like animals and huddled together under the bushes.

⁸A worthless bunch of nameless nobodies! They were driven out of the land.

⁹Now they come and laugh at me; I am nothing but a joke to them.

¹⁰They treat me with disgust; they think they are too good for me, and even come and spit in my face.

¹¹Because God has made me weak and helpless, they turn against me with all their fury.

¹²This mob attacks me head-on; they send me running; they prepare their final assault.

¹³They cut off my escape and try to destroy me; and there is no one to stop them.

¹⁴They pour through the holes in my defenses and come crashing down on top of me;

¹⁵I am overcome with terror; my dignity is gone like a puff of wind, and my prosperity like a cloud.

¹⁶Now I am about to die; there is no relief for my suffering.

¹⁷At night my bones all ache; the pain that gnaws me never stops.

¹⁸God seizes me by my collar and twists my clothes out of shape.

¹⁹He throws me down in the mud; I am no better than dirt.

²⁰I call to you, O God, but you never answer; and when I pray, you pay no attention.

²¹You are treating me cruelly; you persecute me with all your power.

²²You let the wind blow me away; you toss me about in a raging storm.

²³I know you are taking me off to my death, to the fate in store for everyone.

²⁴Why do you attack a ruined man, one who can do nothing but beg for pity?

²⁵Didn't I weep with people in trouble and feel sorry for those in need?

²⁶I hoped for happiness and light, but trouble and darkness came instead.

²⁷I am torn apart by worry and pain; I have had day after day of suffering.

²⁸I go about in gloom, without any sunshine; I stand up in public and plead for help.

²⁹My voice is as sad and lonely as the cries of a jackal or an ostrich.

³⁰My skin has turned dark; I am burning with fever.

³¹Where once I heard joyful music, now I hear only mourning and weeping.

²⁸Never tell your neighbors to wait until tomorrow if you can help them now.

²⁹Don't plan anything that will hurt your neighbors; they live beside you, trusting you.

³⁰Don't argue with others for no reason when they have never done you any harm.

³¹Don't be jealous of violent people or decide to act as they do,

³²because the Lord hates people who do evil, but he takes righteous people into his confidence.