And Iudas gaue Er his eldest sonne/ a wife whose name was Thamar. But this Er Iudas eldest sonne was wicked in the syghte of the LORde/ wherfore the LORde slewe him. Than sayde Iudas vnto Onan: goo in to thi brothers wyfe and Marie her/ and styrre vp seed vnto thy brother. And when Onan perceaued that the seed shulde not be his: therfore when he went in to his brothers wife/ he spylled it on the grounde/ because he wold not geue seed vnto his brother. And the thinge which he dyd/ displeased the LORde/ wherfore he slew him also. Than sayde Iudas to Thamar his doughter in lawe: remayne a wydow at thi fathers house/ tyll Sela my sonne be growne: for he feared lest he shulde haue dyed also/ as his brethren did. Thus went Thamar & dwelt in hir fathers house.
And in processe of tyme/ the doughter of Sua Iudas wife dyed. Than Iudas when he had left mornynge/ went vnto his shepe sherers to Thimnath with his frende Hira of Odollam. And one told Thamar saynge: beholde/ thy father inlawe goth vp to Thimnath/ to shere his shepe. And she put hyr wydows garmẽtes of from her and couered her with a clooke/ and disgyssed herself: and sat her downe at the entrynge of Enaim which is by the hye wayes syde to Thimnath/ for because she sawe that Sela was growne/ and she was not geuẽ vnto him to wife.
When Iuda sawe her/ he thought it had bene an hoore/ because she had couered hyr face. And turned to her vnto the waye and sayde/ come I praye the/ let me lye with the/ for he knewe not that it was his doughter in lawe. And she sayde what wylt thou gyue me/ for to lye with me? Thã sayde he/ I will sende the a kydd frõ the flocke. She answered/ Than geue me a pledge till thou sende it. Than sayde he/ what pledge shall I geue the? And she sayde: thy sygnett/ thy neckelace/ and thy staffe that is in thy hande. And he gaue it her and lay by her/ and she was with child by him. And she gatt her vp and went and put her mantell from her/ ãd put on hir widowes rayment agayne.
And Iudas send the kydd by his neybure of Odollam/ for to fetch out his pledge agayne from the wifes hande. But he fownde her not. Than asked he the men of the same place saynge: where is the whoore that satt at Enaim in the waye? And they sayde: there was no whoore here. And he came to Iuda agayne saynge: I can not fynde her/ and also the men of the place sayde: that there was no whoore there. And Iuda sayde: let her take it to her/ lest we be shamed: for I sente the kydd & thou coudest not fynde her.
And it came to passe that after .iij. monethes/ one tolde Iuda saynge: Thamar thy doughter in lawe hath played the whoore/ and with playnge the whoore is become great with childe. And Iuda sayde: brynge her forth ãd let her be brente. And when they brought her forth/ she sent to her father in lawe saynge: by the mã vnto whome these thinges pertayne/ am I with childe. And sayd also: loke whose are this seall necklace/ and staffe. And Iuda knewe them saynge: she is more rightwes thã I/ because I gaue her not to Sela my sõne. But he laye with her nomore.
When tyme was come that she shulde be delyuered/ beholde there was .ij. twynnes in hyr wõbe. And as she traveled/ the one put out his hande and the mydwife toke and bownde a reed threde aboute it saynge: this wyll come out fyrst. But he plucked his hande backe agayne/ and his brother came out. And she sayde: wherfore hast thou rent a rent vppon the? and called him Pharez. And afterward came out his brother that had the reade threde about his hãde/ which was called Zarah.
¶ The .xxxix. Chapter.
IOseph was brought vnto Egipte/ ãd Putiphar a lorde of Pharaos: ãd his chefe marshall an Egiptian/ bought him of ye Ismaelites which brought hĩ thither And the LORde was with Ioseph/ and he was a luckie felowe and continued in the house of his master the Egiptian. And his master sawe that the LORde was with him and that the LORde made all that he dyd prosper in his hande: Wherfore he founde grace in his masters syghte/ and serued him. And his master made him ruelar of his house/ and put all that he had in his hande. And as soone as he had made him ruelar ouer his house ãd ouer all that he had/ the LORde blessed this Egiptians house for Iosephs sake/ and the blessynge of the LORde was vpon all that he had: both in the house and also in the feldes. And therfore he left all that he had in Iosephs hande/ and loked vpon nothinge that was with him/ saue only on the bread which he ate. And Ioseph was a goodly persone & a well favored
And it fortuned after this/ that his masters wife cast hir eyes vpon Ioseph and sayde come lye with me. But he denyed and sayde to her: Beholde/ my master woteth not what he hath in the house with me/ but hath commytted all that he hath to my hande He him selfe is not greatter in the house than I/ ãd hath kepte nothĩge frõ me/ but only the because thou art his wife. How than can I do this great wykydnes/ for to synne agaynst God? And after this maner spake she to Ioseph daye by daye: but he harkened not vnto her/ to slepe nere her or to be in her company.