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16 and asked her to sleep with him. She asked, “What will you give me if I do?”

17 “One of my young goats,” he answered.

“What will you give me to keep until you send the goat?” she asked.

18 “What do you want?” he asked in return.

“The ring on that cord around your neck,” was her reply. “I also want the special walking stick[a] you have with you.” He gave them to her, they slept together, and she became pregnant.

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Footnotes

  1. 38.18 ring … walking stick: The ring was shaped like a cylinder and could be rolled over soft clay as a way of sealing special documents. The walking stick was probably a symbol of power and the sign of leadership in the tribe, though it may have been a shepherd's rod.

16 Not realizing(A) that she was his daughter-in-law,(B) he went over to her by the roadside and said, “Come now, let me sleep with you.”(C)

“And what will you give me to sleep with you?”(D) she asked.

17 “I’ll send you a young goat(E) from my flock,” he said.

“Will you give me something as a pledge(F) until you send it?” she asked.

18 He said, “What pledge should I give you?”

“Your seal(G) and its cord, and the staff(H) in your hand,” she answered. So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him.(I)

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