۞ Women in the town began to gossip, "The nobleman's wife is trying to seduce her slave! Love for him consumes her heart! Indeed! We see her in manifest error." 30 When she heard their gossiping, she invited them to her house for a banquet and gave a knife to each of them. Then she told Joseph to appear before them. When they saw Joseph, they were so amazed that they cut their hands and said, "Goodness gracious! He is not a mortal but is a charming angel!" 31 Whereupon she said: 'Now you see, this is he on whose account you blamed me. Yes, I sought to seduce him, but he was unyielding. If he declines to do what I command, he shall be imprisoned and be one of the humiliated' 32 (Joseph) prayed: "O Lord, dearer is prison than what they invite me to. Unless You turn their guiles away from me I shall succumb to their charms and thus become a pagan." 33 So his Lord answered him, and He turned away from him their guile; surely He is the All-hearing, the All-knowing. 34 For, presently it occurred to the nobleman and his household - [even] after they had seen all the signs [of Joseph's innocence] - that they might as well imprison him for a time. 35