Judah recognized them and said, “She is more upright ¹  than I am, because I wouldn’t give her to Shelah my son.” He did not have sexual relations with her ²  again.

biblegateway Gen 38:26

Judah recognized them, and said, "She is more righteous than I, inasmuch as I did not give her to my son Shelah." And he did not have relations with her again.

Judah recognized them and said, "She is more in the right than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah." And he did not know her intimately again.

Judah recognized them and said, "She’s not guilty. I am! She did this because I haven’t given her my son Shelah." Judah never made love to her again.

biblegateway Gen 38:26

Judah recognised them and said, "She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn’t give her to my son Shelah." And he did not sleep with her again.

Then Judah identified them and said, "She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah." And he did not know her again.

bibleoremus Gen 38:26

Then Judah acknowledged them and said, "She is more in the right than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah." And he did not lie with her again.

Judah identified them and said, “She is more in the right than I am, because I did not give her to my son Shelah.” He did not have intercourse with her again.

biblegateway Gen 38:26

So Judah acknowledged them and said, "She has been more righteous than I, because I did not give her to Shelah my son." And he never knew her again.

And Judah acknowledged [them], and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more.

biblegateway Gen 38:26

Judah recognized them and said, “She is more upright ¹  than I am, because I wouldn’t give her to Shelah my son.” He did not have sexual relations with her ²  again.

¹ tn Traditionally “more righteous”; cf. NCV, NRSV, NLT “more in the right.”

¹ sn She is more upright than I. Judah had been irresponsible and unfaithful to his duty to see that the family line continued through the levirate marriage of his son Shelah. Tamar fought for her right to be the mother of Judah’s line. When she was not given Shelah and Judah’s wife died, she took action on her own to ensure that the line did not die out. Though deceptive, it was a desperate and courageous act. For Tamar it was within her rights; she did nothing that the law did not entitle her to do. But for Judah it was wrong because he thought he was going to a prostitute. See also Susan Niditch, “The Wronged Woman Righted: An Analysis of Genesis 38,” HTR 72 (1979): 143-48.

² tn Heb “and he did not add again to know her.” Here “know” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.