Genesis 38:26

Plain English Version

So they took those things to Judah, and they told him what Tamar said. And Judah looked at those things, and he knew that they belonged to him. Then Judah knew that Tamar tricked him, and he felt shame. He said, “You know, I did the wrong thing. I didn’t let Tamar marry my son Shelah. But Tamar is better than me. She wanted to have kids that will belong to her dead husband, just like our culture says. That’s the reason why she got me to sleep with her.” So Judah didn’t punish Tamar, and he never slept with her again.

Cross References

Genesis 37:33

Jacob looked at the coat, and he knew that it belonged to Joseph. So he said, “Yes, that is my son’s coat.” And Jacob saw the blood on that coat, so he said, “I know what happened. A wild animal ate Joseph. Yes, that animal tore him into little bits.”

Genesis 38:14

Tamar thought about Judah’s son Shelah. She knew that he was grown up now, but Judah still didn’t let her marry him. So Tamar thought, “I will trick Judah and get him to sleep with me, like a man sleeps with his wife, so that I can have kids. Then those kids will belong to my dead husband Er.” At that time, Tamar was wearing the sort of clothes that widows wear. But then, Tamar changed those clothes, and she put on some pretty clothes, and she put a scarf over her head, to cover her face. Then she went and sat outside the town called Enayim. That town is on the road that goes to Timnah.

Genesis 4:1

Adam and Eve slept together, like a man does with his wife, and then Eve had a baby boy. Eve said, “God has helped me make another human.” So she gave him the name Cain. That name means make.

2 Samuel 16:22

So the workers put up a tent on the flat roof of David’s big house. Absalom went into the tent and slept with his father’s wives one by one, just like he was married to them. And a lot of people saw him do that, and all the Israel mob heard about it.

Matthew 3:8

If you really are sorry for the bad things you did, and if you are turning around properly to live God’s way, show us. If we see you doing good things, then we will know it is true.

John 8:9

Those men heard his words, and then the oldest man turned around and walked away. Then the next oldest man went away too, and the other men followed one by one. Soon they were all gone, and the woman was the only one standing in front of Jesus.

Romans 3:19

You know, it’s like this. God gave his law to the Jewish people for them to follow. And God is the judge of everybody in the whole world. And nobody has kept all of that law, so nobody can argue with him. Nobody can tell God, “I have kept all those laws, so I’m all right. You can’t punish me.” We can’t say that, because we all broke that law at some time. So why is the law there? It is there just to let us know that we always go wrong. That’s what it is there for.

1 Samuel 24:17

He said to David, “You are a good man, I am not. You are good to me, but I am giving you a hard time.

1 Samuel 24:18

And now you have just told me that you feel sorry for me. God brought us together in the cave, but still you did not kill me.