And when they were safely gone, Aseneth got up and opened the door of the room in which she kept her dresses and jewels, taking care to make no noise; and from among all her robes she chose out a black one which she had worn, years before, when the only son of Potipherah had died.  And she cast off her royal robe and her diadem and veil and girdle, and put on the black robe and girded it with a rope.  Next she went to the shrine wherein stood all the golden and silver images of her gods, and took them and threw them out of the window for the wayfarers to pick up; and she took the supper that had been laid out for her of all manner of delicate meats, and threw that into the highway for the dogs to eat.  And she emptied the ashes out of the leather curtain upon the floor; she let down her hair and cast some of the ashes upon her head; she smote her breast and wept; and thus she sat in silence and misery till seven days and nights were accomplished.

And on the morning of the eighth day, when it was just dawning, and the birds had begun to twitter in the trees of the garden, and the dogs to bark at the passers-by, Aseneth raised herself a little from her crouching posture among the ashes and turned herself to the window that looked towards the east.  She was faint and ill and weary from her long fasting and watching; her tongue was dry as horn, her eyes were glazed, and her fair face was haggard.  She bent her head down and clasped her hands together, and crouched down again among the ashes, and said to herself, “It is all over.  I have no one to turn to now.  My father and mother will cast me off, for I have dishonoured their gods; they will say, ’Aseneth is no daughter of ours.’  My kindred will hate me, and all the youths whom I have despised and rejected will rejoice at my humiliation; and Joseph will have nothing to say to me because I am a foul worshipper of idols.  Yet,” she went on to say, “I have heard that the God of the Hebrews is a merciful God, long-suffering and compassionate, not hard upon those that have sinned ignorantly, if they are sorry for what they have done.  Why should I not turn to Him?  Who knows if He will not have pity upon my loneliness and protect me?  For they say He is the Father of the fatherless, and cares for those who are in trouble.”  So she rose and knelt upon her knees, with her face turned towards the east, and looked up into heaven and prayed.  “Save me,” she said, “from those who are pursuing me, before I am caught by them; as a little child when it is frightened runs to its father, and the father stretches out his arms and catches it to his breast, so I flee to Thee.  I know that Satan, the Old Lion, is hunting me; for he is the father of the gods of Egypt, and I have insulted them and destroyed their images.  I have no hope but in Thee.  See, I have cast off all my beautiful robes and ornaments; I sit here in sackcloth and ashes; I have fasted and wept these seven days, because I know that I have done wrong in worshipping dumb idols, and in speaking scornfully against Joseph.  But, Lord, I did it in ignorance; save me, and above all watch over Joseph, whom I love more than my own life.  Keep him, Lord, in safety, and let me be his handmaid and his slave, if Thou wilt, so that I may minister to him all the days I have to live.”