And the man from Egypt who bought him said to his wife: "Make his stay [with us] honourable; he may well be of use to us, or we may adopt him as a son. And thus We gave unto Joseph a firm place on earth; and [We did this] so that We might impart unto him some understanding of the inner meaning of happenings. For, God always prevails in whatever be His purpose: but most people know it not. 21 And when he reached his maturity We vouchsafed unto him judgement and knowledge; and Thus We recompense the well-doers. 22 His master's wife then tried to seduce him. She locked the doors and said to him, "Come on." He said, "I seek refuge in God who has given me a good place of shelter. The unjust will certainly have no happiness." 23 For she desired him; and he would have taken her, but that he saw the proof of his Lord. So was it, that We might turn away from him evil and abomination; he was one of Our devoted servants. 24 Then both of them rushed to the door, each seeking to get ahead of the other, and she tore Joseph's shirt from behind. Then both of them found the husband of the lady at the door. Seeing him she said: "What should be the punishment of him who has foul designs on your wife except that he should be imprisoned or subjected to painful chastisement?" 25 [Joseph] said, "It was she who sought to seduce me." And a witness from her family testified. "If his shirt is torn from the front, then she has told the truth, and he is of the liars. 26 But if it is torn from behind then she is lying, and he speaks the truth." 27 So when he saw his shirt,- that it was torn at the back,- (her husband) said: "Behold! It is a snare of you women! truly, mighty is your snare! 28 Joseph, stay away from such affairs and you, woman, ask forgiveness for your sin; the guilt is yours." 29