Genesis 38:7
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him.
American King James Version (AKJV)
And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him.
American Standard Version (ASV)
And Er, Judah's first-born, was wicked in the sight of Jehovah. And Jehovah slew him.
Basic English Translation (BBE)
Now Er, Judah's first son, did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so that he put him to death.
Webster's Revision
And Er, Judah's first-born, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him.
World English Bible
Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of Yahweh. Yahweh killed him.
English Revised Version (ERV)
And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him.
Clarke's Genesis 38:7 Bible Commentary
Er - was wicked in the sight of the Lord - What this wickedness consisted in we are not told; but the phrase sight of the Lord being added, proves that it was some very great evil. It is worthy of remark that the Hebrew word used to express Er's wickedness is his own name, the letters reversed. Er ער wicked, רע ra. As if the inspired writer had said, "Er was altogether wicked, a completely abandoned character."
Wesley's Genesis 38:7 Bible Commentary
38:7 And Er was wicked in the sight of the Lord — That is, in defiance of God and his law. And what came of it? Why God cut him off presently, The Lord slew him. The next brother Onan was, according to the ancient usage, married to the widow, to preserve the name of his deceased brother that died childless. This custom of marrying the brother's widow was afterward made one of the laws of Moses, Deuteronomy 25:5. Onan, though he consented to marry the widow, yet to the great abuse of his own body, of the wife he had married, and the memory of his brother that was gone, he refused to raise up seed unto his brother. Those sins that dishonour the body are very displeasing to God, and the evidence of vile actions. Observe, the thing which he did displeased the Lord - And it is to be feared, thousands, especially of single persons, by this very thing, still displeased the Lord, and destroy their own souls.