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Genesis · Bible in Simple Spanish (2026)

Genesis 38 Bible in Simple Spanish (2026)

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About BES
  • Individual translator
  • OT: Masoretic Hebrew (not verified)
  • NT: Critical text (not verified)
  • Protestant (66 books)
  • Simplified language
  • 2026
  • Public domain

Audio: Reina-Valera Antigua (RVA), read by Joyfull · About the recordings

BES Bible in Simple Spanish (2026)
WEB World English Bible (Classic, with Deuterocanon)
1 Por aquel tiempo, Judá se alejó de sus hermanos y fue a vivir cerca de un hombre de Adulam llamado Hira.
1 At that time, Judah went down from his brothers, and visited a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.
2 Allí vio a la hija de un cananeo llamado Súa, la tomó como mujer y se unió a ella.
2 There, Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite man named Shua. He took her, and went in to her.
3 Ella quedó embarazada y dio a luz un hijo, al que llamó Er.
3 She conceived, and bore a son; and he named him Er.
4 Volvió a quedar embarazada y dio a luz un hijo, al que llamó Onán.
4 She conceived again, and bore a son; and she named him Onan.
5 Después tuvo otro hijo y lo llamó Sela. Judá estaba en Quezib cuando nació.
5 She yet again bore a son, and named him Shelah. He was at Chezib when she bore him.
6 Judá tomó para Er, su hijo mayor, una mujer llamada Tamar.
6 Judah took a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.
7 Pero Er hizo lo malo ante los ojos del Señor, y el Señor le quitó la vida.
7 Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in Yahweh’s sight. So Yahweh killed him.
8 Entonces Judá dijo a Onán: «Únete a la mujer de tu hermano y cumple con tu deber como hermano del esposo muerto, para darle descendencia a tu hermano».
8 Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.”
9 Onán sabía que esa descendencia no sería considerada suya. Por eso, cuando se unía a la mujer de su hermano, derramaba su semen en tierra para no darle descendencia a su hermano.
9 Onan knew that the offspring wouldn’t be his; and when he went in to his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground, lest he should give offspring to his brother.
10 Lo que hacía era malo ante los ojos del Señor, y también a él le quitó la vida.
10 The thing which he did was evil in Yahweh’s sight, and he killed him also.
11 Entonces Judá dijo a Tamar, su nuera: «Vuelve a la casa de tu padre y vive allí como viuda hasta que mi hijo Sela sea adulto». Pero Judá pensaba: «No sea que él también muera como sus hermanos». Así Tamar volvió a la casa de su padre.
11 Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house, until Shelah, my son, is grown up;” for he said, “Lest he also die, like his brothers.” Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.
12 Pasó bastante tiempo y murió la mujer de Judá, hija de Súa. Después del tiempo de duelo, Judá fue a Timnat, donde estaban esquilando sus ovejas. Su amigo Hira de Adulam fue con él.
12 After many days, Shua’s daughter, the wife of Judah, died. Judah was comforted, and went up to his sheep shearers to Timnah, he and his friend Hirah, the Adullamite.
13 Tamar recibió la noticia: «Tu suegro va a Timnat a esquilar sus ovejas».
13 Tamar was told, “Behold, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.”
14 Entonces se quitó la ropa de viuda, se cubrió con un velo y se sentó cerca de Enaim, en el camino a Timnat. Lo hizo porque veía que Sela ya era adulto, pero no se la habían dado como mujer.
14 She took off the garments of her widowhood, and covered herself with her veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the gate of Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she wasn’t given to him as a wife.
15 Cuando Judá la vio, pensó que era una prostituta porque tenía el rostro cubierto.
15 When Judah saw her, he thought that she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face.
16 Se acercó a ella junto al camino y le dijo: «Déjame acostarme contigo». No sabía que era su nuera. Ella preguntó: «¿Qué me darás por acostarte conmigo?».
16 He turned to her by the way, and said, “Please come, let me come in to you,” for he didn’t know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?”
17 Judá respondió: «Te enviaré un cabrito de mi rebaño». Ella preguntó: «¿Qué me dejarás como garantía hasta que lo envíes?».
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 Él dijo: «¿Qué quieres que te deje?». Ella respondió: «Tu sello, el cordón del sello y el bastón que tienes en la mano». Judá se los dio, se acostó con ella y Tamar quedó embarazada de él.
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 Después Tamar se fue, se quitó el velo y volvió a ponerse su ropa de viuda.
19 She arose, and went away, and put off her veil from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood.
20 Judá envió el cabrito por medio de su amigo Hira para recuperar lo que había dejado como garantía, pero Hira no encontró a la mujer.
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.
21 Preguntó a los hombres del lugar: «¿Dónde está la prostituta que estaba junto al camino, cerca de Enaim?». Ellos respondieron: «Aquí no ha habido ninguna prostituta».
21 Then he asked the men of her place, saying, “Where is the prostitute, that was at Enaim by the road?” They said, “There has been no prostitute here.”
22 Hira volvió a Judá y dijo: «No la encontré. Además, los hombres del lugar dicen que allí no había ninguna prostituta».
22 He returned to Judah, and said, “I haven’t found her; and also the men of the place said, ‘There has been no prostitute here.’”
23 Judá respondió: «Que se quede con las cosas, para que no se rían de nosotros. Yo envié el cabrito, pero tú no la encontraste».
23 Judah said, “Let her keep it, lest we be shamed. Behold, I sent this young goat, and you haven’t found her.”
24 Unos tres meses después, dijeron a Judá: «Tamar, tu nuera, ha actuado como prostituta y ha quedado embarazada». Judá dijo: «Sáquenla y quémenla».
24 About three months later, Judah was told, “Tamar, your daughter-in-law, has played the prostitute. Moreover, behold, she is with child by prostitution.” Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.”
25 Mientras la sacaban, Tamar envió a decir a su suegro: «Estoy embarazada del hombre a quien pertenecen estas cosas. Mira, por favor, de quién son este sello, este cordón y este bastón».
25 When she was brought out, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, “I am with child by the man who owns these.” She also said, “Please discern whose these are—the signet, and the cords, and the staff.”
26 Judá los reconoció y dijo: «Ella ha actuado con más justicia que yo, porque no le di a mi hijo Sela». Y no volvió a acostarse con ella.
26 Judah acknowledged them, and said, “She is more righteous than I, because I didn’t give her to Shelah, my son.” He knew her again no more.
27 Cuando llegó el momento de dar a luz, había gemelos en su vientre.
27 In the time of her travail, behold, twins were in her womb.
28 Durante el parto, uno de ellos sacó una mano. La mujer que ayudaba en el parto le ató un hilo rojo y dijo: «Este salió primero».
28 When she travailed, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, “This came out first.”
29 Pero él retiró la mano y salió primero su hermano. Entonces la mujer dijo: «¡Cómo te abriste paso!». Por eso lo llamaron Pérez.
29 As he drew back his hand, behold, his brother came out, and she said, “Why have you made a breach for yourself?” Therefore his name was called Perez.
30 Después salió su hermano, el que tenía el hilo rojo en la mano, y lo llamaron Zera.
30 Afterward his brother came out, who had the scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was called Zerah.

People & places in this chapter

From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.

People

  • Bath-shua

    Judah's Canaanite wife

    The Canaanite daughter of Shua whom Judah married and who bore Er, Onan and Shelah (unnamed in Genesis 38, where she dies after a long time; named Bath-shua in 1 Chronicles 2:3).

    Cited in the guide: Genesis 38:12; 1 Chronicles 2:3

    See in the family tree

  • Er

    Judah's firstborn

    Judah's firstborn, who was wicked in the LORD's sight and died young; first husband of Tamar.

    Cited in the guide: Genesis 38:3-7

    See in the family tree

  • Hirah

    Judah's Adullamite friend

    Judah's friend, an Adullamite near whom Judah settled, who went with Judah to the sheepshearing at Timnah and later took the young goat to Enaim but could not find the woman.

    Cited in the guide: Genesis 38:1; Genesis 38:12; Genesis 38:20

    See in the family tree

  • Judah

    The royal tribe

    The lion of the tribes, from whom kings and the Messiah would come.

    Cited in the guide: Genesis 29:35; 38; 49:8–12

    See in the family tree

  • Onan

    Judah's second son

    Judah's second son, who died for refusing to raise up offspring for his late brother.

    Cited in the guide: Genesis 38:4-10

    See in the family tree

  • Perez

    Son of Judah

    Born of Judah and Tamar, he became the head of the leading clan of Judah.

    Cited in the guide: Gen. 38; Ruth 4:18; 1 Chron. 2:4-5; Matt. 1:3

    See in the family tree

  • Shelah

    Judah's third son

    Judah's third son, withheld from Tamar until she took matters into her own hands.

    Cited in the guide: Genesis 38:5, 11; Numbers 26:20

    See in the family tree

  • Shua

    Canaanite father of Judah's wife

    A Canaanite man whose daughter Judah married; she bore Er, Onan and Shelah.

    Cited in the guide: Genesis 38:2; Genesis 38:12

    See in the family tree

  • Tamar

    Mother of Perez

    Judah's daughter-in-law who, denied justice, became the mother of Perez.

    Cited in the guide: Genesis 38; Matthew 1:3

    See in the family tree

  • Zerah

    Twin of Perez

    The twin brother of Perez, born to Judah and Tamar, whose hand first reached out at birth.

    Cited in the guide: Genesis 38:29-30; 1 Chronicles 2:4

    See in the family tree

Cross references (25)

Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.

  1. 1 2 Kings 4:8; 1 Samuel 22:1; Proverbs 13:20; Micah 1:15; Genesis 19:2–3
  2. 2 1 Chronicles 2:3; Genesis 24:3; 2 Corinthians 6:14; Judges 16:1; Genesis 3:6
  3. 3 Numbers 26:19; Genesis 46:12
  4. 4 Genesis 46:12; Numbers 26:19
  5. 5 Numbers 26:20; Genesis 46:12; Genesis 38:26; Genesis 38:11; 1 Chronicles 4:21
  6. 6 Genesis 21:21; Genesis 24:3; Matthew 1:3
  7. 7 1 Chronicles 2:3; Genesis 46:12; Numbers 26:19; Genesis 13:13; Genesis 19:13
  8. 8 Deuteronomy 25:5–10; Matthew 22:23–27; Ruth 4:5–11; Ruth 1:11; Leviticus 18:16
  9. 9 James 4:5; Deuteronomy 25:6; James 3:16; Titus 3:3; Job 5:2
  10. 10 Numbers 11:1; Genesis 46:12; Proverbs 14:32; 1 Chronicles 21:7; Numbers 26:19
  11. 11 Leviticus 22:13; Ruth 1:11–13
  12. 12 Joshua 15:10; 2 Samuel 13:39; Judges 14:1; Genesis 24:67; Genesis 31:19
  13. 14 Genesis 38:26; Genesis 38:11–13; Proverbs 7:12; Jeremiah 3:2; Genesis 24:65
  14. 16 1 Timothy 6:10; Matthew 26:15; 2 Samuel 13:11; Ezekiel 16:33; Deuteronomy 23:18
  15. 17 Genesis 38:20; Ezekiel 16:33; Luke 16:8; Proverbs 20:16; Genesis 38:24–25
  16. 18 Genesis 38:25–26; Luke 15:22; Jeremiah 22:24; Hosea 4:11
  17. 19 Genesis 38:14; 2 Samuel 14:2; 2 Samuel 14:5
  18. 20 Genesis 20:9; 2 Samuel 13:3; Luke 23:12; Leviticus 19:17; Judges 14:20
  19. 23 Ephesians 5:12; 2 Samuel 12:9; Proverbs 6:33; Romans 6:21; 2 Corinthians 4:2
  20. 24 Leviticus 21:9; Judges 19:2; Ezekiel 23:44; Hosea 2:5; Ezekiel 23:19
  21. 25 Genesis 37:32; Genesis 38:18; Psalm 50:21; Jeremiah 2:26; Revelation 20:12
  22. 26 1 Samuel 24:17; 1 Peter 4:2–3; John 8:9; Titus 2:11–12; 2 Samuel 24:17
  23. 27 Genesis 25:24
  24. 29 Genesis 46:12; Matthew 1:3; 1 Chronicles 2:4; Numbers 26:20; Nehemiah 11:6
  25. 30 1 Chronicles 9:6; 1 Chronicles 2:4; Matthew 1:3

Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences

What the Fathers said

Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).

How these were chosen

“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).

  1. Quotes verse 38:28 Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies (Book IV, Chapters XXV–XXVI)

    This fact is indeed set forth by many other [occurrences], but typically by [the history of] Thamar, Judah's daughter-in-law. For when she had conceived twins, one of them put forth his hand first; and as the midwife supposed that he was the first-born, she bound a scarlet token on his hand.

    Read in context · Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1 (1885)