15. When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute because she had covered her face.
16. Since he didn’t know she was his daughter-in-law, he approached her by the roadside and said, “Come on, let’s sleep together!”She asked, “What will you pay to sleep with me?”
17. “I’ll send you a young goat from the flock,” he answered.She said, “First give me something as a deposit until you send it.”
18. “What should I give you as a deposit?” he asked.“Your signet ring, its cord, and the shepherd’s staff that’s in your hand,” she answered.So he gave them to her. Then he slept with her, and she became pregnant.
19. After she got up and left, she took off her veil and put her widow’s clothes back on.
20. Judah sent his friend Hirah to deliver the young goat so that he could get back his deposit from the woman, but his friend couldn’t find her.
21. He asked the men of that area, “Where’s that prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim?”“There’s no prostitute here,” they answered.
22. So he went back to Judah and said, “I couldn’t find her. Even the men of that area said, ‘There’s no prostitute here.’ ”
23. Then Judah said, “Let her keep what I gave her, or we’ll become a laughingstock. After all, I did send her this young goat, but you couldn’t find her.”