And it happened that at that time Judah went down from his brothers and pitched his tent near a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. And Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite there whose name was Shua. And he took her and went in to her. And she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er. And she conceived again and bore a son, and he called his name Onan. And once again she bore a son, and she called his name Shelah. And he was in Chezib when she bore him. And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. And Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and Yahweh killed him. Then Judah said to Onan, "Go in to the wife of your brother and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother." But Onan knew that the offspring would not be for him, so whenever he went in to the wife of his brother he would waste it on the ground so as not to give offspring to his brother. And what he did was evil in the sight of Yahweh, so he killed him also. Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, "Stay a widow in your father’s house until Shelah my son grows up," for he feared he would also die like his brother. So Tamar went and stayed in the house of her father. And in the course of time the daughter of Shua, the wife of Judah, died. When Judah was consoled he went up to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite, to Timnah. And it was told to Tamar, saying, "Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep." So she removed the clothes of her widowhood and covered herself with the veil and disguised herself. And she sat at the entrance to Eynayim, which is on the way to Timnah, for she saw that Shelah was grown but she had not been given to him as a wife. And Judah saw her and reckoned her to be a prostitute, for she had covered her face. And he turned aside to her at the roadside and said, "Please come, let me come in to you," for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, "What will you give to me that you may come in to me?" And he said, "I will send a kid from the goats of the flock." And she said, "Only if you give a pledge until you send it." And he said, "What is the pledge that I must give to you?" And she said, "your seal, your cord, and your staff that is in your hand." And he gave them to her and went in to her. And she conceived by him. And she arose and left, and she removed her veil from herself and put on the garments of her widowhood. And Judah sent the kid from the goats by the hand of his friend the Adullamite to take back the pledge from the hand of the woman, but he could not find her. So he asked the men of her place, saying, "Where is that cult prostitute that was at Eynayim by the roadside?" And they said, "There is no cult prostitute here." Then he returned to Judah and said, "I could not find her. Morever, the men of the place said, ‘There is no cult prostitute here.’" And Judah said, "Let her take them for herself, lest we be laughed at. Behold, I sent this kid, but you could not find her." And about three months later it was told to Judah, "Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the whore, and now, behold, she has conceived by prostitution." And Judah said, "Bring her out and let her be burned." She was brought out, but she sent to her father-in-law saying, "By the man to whom these belong I have conceived." And she said, "Now discern to whom these belong: the seal and cord and the staff." Then Judah recognized 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. And it happened that at the time she gave birth that, behold, twins were in her womb. And it happened that at her labor one child put out a hand. And the midwife took it and tied a crimson thread on his hand saying, "This one came out first." Then his hand drew back and, behold, his brother came out, and she said, "What a breach you have made for yourself!" And she called his name Perez. And afterward his brother who had the crimson thread on his hand came out. And his name was called Zerah.

Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, a court official of Pharaoh, commander of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the hand of the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. And Yahweh was with Joseph, and he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. And his master observed that Yahweh was with him, and everything that was in his hand to do Yahweh made successful. And Joseph found favor in his eyes and he served him. Then he appointed him over his house and all that he owned he put into his hand. And it happened that from the time he appointed him over his house and over all that he had, Yahweh blessed the house of the Egyptian on account of Joseph. And the blessing of Yahweh was upon all that he had in the house and in the field. And he left all that he had in the hand of Joseph, and he did not worry about anything except the food that he ate. Now Joseph was well built and handsome. And it happened that after these things his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph, and she said, "Lie with me." But he refused and said to his master’s wife, "Look, my master does not worry about what is in the house, and everything he owns he has put in my hand. He has no greater authority in this house than me, and he has not withheld anything from me except you, since you are his wife. Now how could I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" And it happened that as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he did not heed her to lie beside her or to be with her. But one particular day he came into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house were there in the house, she seized him by his garment and said, "Lie with me!" And he left his garment in her hand and fled, and he went outside. And it happened that when she saw that he left his garment in her hand and fled outside, she called to the men of her house and said to them, "Look! He brought a Hebrew man to us to mock us! He came to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. And when he heard me, that I raised my voice and called out, he left his garment beside me and fled, and he went outside." Then she put his garment beside her until his master came to his house. Then she spoke to him according to these words, saying, "The Hebrew slave that you brought to us came to me to make fun of me. And it happened that as I raised my voice and called out, he left his garment beside me and fled outside." And when his master heard the words of his wife that she spoke to him, "This is what your servant did to me," he became very angry. And Joseph’s master took him and put him into prison, the place that the king’s prisoners were confined. And he was there in prison. And Yahweh was with Joseph, and showed loyal love to him, and gave him favor in the eyes of the chief of the prison. And the chief of the prison put all the prisoners that were in the prison into the hand of Joseph. And everything that was done there, he was the one who did it. The chief of the prison did not worry about anything in his hand, since Yahweh was with him. And whatever he did Yahweh made it successful.

And it happened that after these things the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker did wrong against their lord, against the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, with the chief cupbearer and chief baker. And he put them in custody in the house of the chief of the guard, into the prison where Joseph was confined. And the chief of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he attended them. And they were in custody many days. And the two of them, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, dreamed a dream, each his own dream, with its own interpretation. When Joseph came to them in the morning he looked at them, and behold, they were troubled. And he asked the court officials of Pharaoh that were with him in the custody of his master’s house, "Why are your faces sad today?" And they said to him, "We each dreamed a dream, but there is no one to interpret it." And Joseph said to them, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me." Then the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph, and he said to him, "In my dream, now behold, there was a vine before me, and on the vine were three branches. And as it budded, its blossoms came up, and its clusters of grapes grew ripe. And the cup of Pharaoh was in my hand, and I took the grapes and squeezed them into the cup of Pharaoh. Then I placed the cup into the hand of Pharaoh." Then Joseph said to him, "This is its interpretation: The three branches, they are three days. In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and will restore you to your office. And you shall put the cup of Pharaoh into his hand as was formerly the custom, when you were his cupbearer. But remember me when it goes well with you, and please may you show kindness with respect to me, and mention me to Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house. For I was surely kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me in this pit." And when the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good he said to Joseph, "I also dreamed. In my dream, now behold, there were three baskets of bread upon my head. And in the upper basket were all sorts of baked foods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket upon my head." Then Joseph answered and said, "This is its interpretation: The three baskets, they are three days. In three days Pharaoh will lift your head from you and hang you on a pole, and the birds will eat your flesh from you." And it happened that on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he made a feast for all his servants. And he lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker in the midst of his servants. And he restored the chief cupbearer to his cupbearing position. And he placed the cup in the hand of Pharaoh. But the chief baker he hanged as Joseph had interpreted to them. But the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.

And as soon as morning came, after formulating a plan, the chief priests, with the elders and scribes and the whole Sanhedrin, tied up Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. And Pilate asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" And he answered him and said, "You say so." And the chief priests began to accuse him of many things. So Pilate asked him again, saying, "Do you not answer anything? See how many charges they are bringing against you!" But Jesus did not answer anything further, so that Pilate was astonished.

Now at each feast he customarily released for them one prisoner whom they requested. And the one named Barabbas was imprisoned with the rebels who had committed murder in the rebellion. And the crowd came up and began to ask him to do as he customarily did for them. So Pilate answered them, saying, "Do you want me to release for you the king of the Jews?" (For he realized that the chief priests had handed him over because of envy.) But the chief priests incited the crowd so that he would release for them Barabbas instead. So Pilate answered and said to them again, "Then what do you want me to do with the one whom you call the king of the Jews?" And they shouted again, "Crucify him!" And Pilate said to them, "Why? What evil has he done?" But they shouted even louder, "Crucify him!"

So Pilate, because he wanted to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas. And after he had Jesus flogged, he handed him over so that he could be crucified.

So the soldiers led him away into the palace (that is, the governor’s residence) and called together the whole cohort. And they put a purple cloak on him, and after weaving a crown of thorns they placed it on him. And they began to greet him, "Hail, king of the Jews!" And they repeatedly struck him on the head with a reed, and were spitting on him, and they knelt down and did obeisance to him. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him, and they led him out so that they could crucify him.

And they forced a certain man who was passing by, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and Rufus), who was coming from the country, to carry his cross. And they brought him to the place Golgotha (which is translated "Place of a Skull"). And they attempted to give him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him and divided his clothes among themselves by casting lots for them to see who should take what. Now it was the third hour when they crucified him. And the inscription of the charge against him was written, "The king of the Jews." And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. And those who passed by reviled him, shaking their heads and saying, "Aha! The one who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself by coming down from the cross!" In the same way also the chief priests, along with the scribes, were mocking him to one another, saying, "He saved others; he is not able to save himself! Let the Christ, the king of Israel, come down now from the cross, so that we may see and believe! Even those who were crucified with him were reviling him.

And when the sixth hour came, darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" (which is translated, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?") And some of the bystanders, when they heard it, said, "Behold, he is summoning Elijah!" And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink, saying, "Leave him alone! Let us see if Elijah is coming to take him down." But Jesus uttered a loud cry and expired. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion who was standing opposite him saw that he expired like this, he said, "Truly this man was God’s Son!" And there were also women observing from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and Joses, and Salome, who used to follow him and serve him when he was in Galilee, and many other women who went up with him to Jerusalem.

And when it was already evening, since it was the day of preparation (that is, the day before the Sabbath), Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the council who was also himself looking forward to the kingdom of God, came acting courageously and went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. And Pilate was surprised that he was already dead, and summoning the centurion, asked him whether he had died already. And when he learned of it from the centurion, he granted the corpse to Joseph. And after purchasing a linen cloth and taking him down, he wrapped him in the linen cloth and placed him in a tomb that had been cut from the rock. And he rolled a stone over the entrance of the tomb. Now Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was placed.