And the king said, “Bring him to me”; so when the bearer came to him, Yusuf said, “Return to your lord and ask him what is the status of the women who had cut their hands; indeed my Lord knows their deception.” 50 (The king) said (to the ladies): "What was your affair when ye did seek to seduce Joseph from his (true) self?" The ladies said: "Allah preserve us! no evil know we against him!" Said the 'Aziz's wife: "Now is the truth manifest (to all): it was I who sought to seduce him from his (true) self: He is indeed of those who are (ever) true (and virtuous). 51 [When Joseph learned what had happened, he said: "I asked for] this, so that [my former master] might know that I did not betray him behind his back, and that God does not bless with His guidance the artful schemes of those who betray their trust. 52 ۞ But I do not wish to absolve myself, for the soul is prone to evil, unless my Lord have mercy. Indeed my Lord is forgiving and kind." -- 53 And the king said, “Bring him to me so that I may choose him especially for myself”; and when he had talked to him he said, “Indeed you are today, before us, the honourable, the trusted.” 54 He said: Set me over the storehouses of the land. Lo! I am a skilled custodian. 55 Thus We gave Joseph authority in the land so that he lived wherever he liked. We bestow Our favours on whomsoever We please, and do not allow the reward of those who are good to go waste. 56 But in the eyes of those who have attained to faith and have always been conscious of Us, a reward in the life to come is a far greater good [than any reward in this world]. 57