The king said, "Bring him to me." When the king's messenger came to Joseph, he said, "Go back to your master and ask him about the women who cut their hands: my Lord knows well their guile." 50 The king asked the women, "What was the truth of the affair in which you tried to seduce Joseph?" The women said, "God forbid! We know no evil of him." The wife of the nobleman said, "The truth has now come to light. It was I who tried to seduce him; he is surely an honest man." 51 "From this," said Joseph, "[The nobleman] should know that I did not betray him in his absence, and that God does not guide the plotting of the treacherous. 52 ۞ And I do not acquit myself. Indeed, the soul is a persistent enjoiner of evil, except those upon which my Lord has mercy. Indeed, my Lord is Forgiving and Merciful." 53 And the king said: Bring him to me, I will choose him for myself. So when he had spoken with him, he said: Surely you are in our presence today an honorable, a faithful one. 54 He said: Place me (in authority) over the treasures of the land, surely I am a good keeper, knowing well. 55 Thus did We give full authority to Yusuf (Joseph) in the land, to take possession therein, as when or where he likes. We bestow of Our Mercy on whom We please, and We make not to be lost the reward of Al-Muhsinun (the good doers - see V. 2:112). 56 The reward in the next life is certainly better for the faithful ones who have observed piety in this life. 57