Joseph and Aseneth

Historical English source page 46

42 JOSEPH AND ASENATH [xiii ever. Deliver me, Lord, before all these things come upon me ; deliver me. Master, the desolate ''and defenceless,^ for that my father and my mother have denied me and said, ' Asenath is not our daughter,' because I brake their gods in pieces and made away with them, as having wholly hated them. And now I am an orphan and desolate, and I have no other hope save thee, Lord, nor another refuge save thy mercy, thou friend of men, because thou only art father of the orphans and champion of the persecuted and helper of the afflicted. Have mercy on me, Lord, ""and keep me pure and virgin,^ the forsaken and orphan, for that thou only, Lord,^ art a ""sweet and ^ good and gentle father. For what father is sweet and good as thou. Lord? For lo! all the houses of my father Pentephres which he hath given me for an inheritance are for a time and vanishing; but the houses of thine inheritance, Lord, are incorruptible and eternal." Asenath's Prayer {continued). XIII. "Visit, Lord, mine humiliation and have mercy on ■" mine orphanhood and pity^ me, the afflicted. Forlo! I, Master, fled from all and sought refuge with thee ""the only friend of men. Lo ! * I left all the good things of the earth and sought refuge with thee. Lord, in sackcloth and ashes, naked ^ Syr. Arm. om. ; Lat. om. "before . . . defenceless"; Slav. om. clause. ' Syr. Arm. om. ; Slav. om. " Have . . . thou. Lord." ' Syr. Arm. om. ; Slav. om. sentence. * Syr. Arm. om. ; Slav. om. " the . . . solitary.''