VERSE STUDY • KJV

Genesis 38:17-20

¹⁷ And he said, I will send [thee] a kid from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give [me] a pledge, till thou send [it]? ¹⁸ And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that [is] in thine hand. And he gave [it] her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him. ¹⁹ And she arose, and went away, and laid by her vail from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood. ²⁰ And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive [his] pledge from the woman’s hand: but he found her not.

Read it in 5 translations

KJV King James Version

¹⁷ And he said, I will send [thee] a kid from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give [me] a pledge, till thou send [it]? ¹⁸ And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that [is] in thine hand. And he gave [it] her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him. ¹⁹ And she arose, and went away, and laid by her vail from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood. ²⁰ And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive [his] pledge from the woman’s hand: but he found her not.

BSB Berean Standard Bible

¹⁷ “I will send you a young goat from my flock,” Judah answered. But she replied, “Only if you leave me something as a pledge until you send it.” ¹⁸ “What pledge should I give you?” he asked. She answered, “Your seal and your cord, and the staff in your hand.” So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him. ¹⁹ Then Tamar got up and departed. And she removed her veil and put on her widow’s garments again. ²⁰ Now when Judah sent his friend Hirah the Adullamite with the young goat to collect the items he had left with the woman, he could not find her.

WEB World English Bible

¹⁷ He said, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.” She said, “Will you give me a pledge, until you send it?” ¹⁸ He said, “What pledge will I give you?” She said, “Your signet and your cord, and your staff that is in your hand.” He gave them to her, and came in to her, and she conceived by him. ¹⁹ She arose, and went away, and put off her veil from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood. ²⁰ Judah sent the young goat by the hand of his friend, the Adullamite, to receive the pledge from the woman’s hand, but he didn’t find her.

ASV American Standard Version

¹⁷ And he said, I will send thee a kid of the goats from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it? ¹⁸ And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet and thy cord, and thy staff that is in thy hand. And he gave them to her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him. ¹⁹ And she arose, and went away, and put off her veil from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood. ²⁰ And Judah sent the kid of the goats by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive the pledge from the woman’s hand: but he found her not.

YLT Young’s Literal Translation

¹⁷ and he saith, ‘I—I send a kid of the goats from the flock.’ And she saith, ‘Dost thou give a pledge till thou send it?’ ¹⁸ and he saith, ‘What is the pledge that I give to thee?’ and she saith, ‘Thy seal, and thy ribbon, and thy staff which is in thy hand;’ and he giveth to her, and goeth in unto her, and she conceiveth to him; ¹⁹ and she riseth, and goeth, and turneth aside her vail from off her, and putteth on the garments of her widowhood. ²⁰ And Judah sendeth the kid of the goats by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive the pledge from the hand of the woman, and he hath not found her.

Surrounding context — Genesis 38

14 And she put her widow’s garments off from her, and covered her with a vail, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which [is] by the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife.

15 When Judah saw her, he thought her [to be] an harlot; because she had covered her face.

16 And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee; (for he knew not that she [was] his daughter in law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me?

17 And he said, I will send [thee] a kid from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give [me] a pledge, till thou send [it]?

18 And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that [is] in thine hand. And he gave [it] her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him.

19 And she arose, and went away, and laid by her vail from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood.

20 And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive [his] pledge from the woman’s hand: but he found her not.

21 Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where [is] the harlot, that [was] openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this [place].

22 And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her; and also the men of the place said, [that] there was no harlot in this [place].

23 And Judah said, Let her take [it] to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.

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