ns that he bade him do. They came
both together and gathered and assembled all the seniors and aged men of
the children of Israel. And Aaron told to them all that God had said to
Moses, and made the signs and tokens tofore the people and the people
believed it. They heard well that our Lord had visited the children of
Israel, and that he had beholden the affliction of them, wherefore they
fell down low to the ground and worshipped our Lord.

After this Moses and Aaron went unto Pharaoh and said: This saith the
Lord God of Israel: Suffer my people to depart that they may sacrifice
to me in desert. Then said Pharaoh: Who is that Lord that I may hear his
voice and leave Israel? I know not that Lord, nor I will not leave
Israel. They said to him: God of the Hebrews hath called us that we go
the journey of three days in the wilderness and sacrifice unto our Lord
God, lest peradventure pestilence or war fall to us. The king of Egypt
said to them: Why solicit ye, Moses and Aaron, the people from their
works and labor? Go ye unto your work. Pharaoh also said: The people is
much, see how they grow and multiply, and yet much more shall do if they
rested from their labor. Therefore he commanded the same day to the
prefects and masters of their works saying: In no wise give no more
chaff to the people for to make loam and clay, but let them go and
gather stubble, and make them do as much labor as they did tofore, and
lessen it nothing. They do now but cry: Let us go and make sacrifice to
our God, let them be oppressed by labor and exercised that they attend
not to leasings. Then the prefects and masters of their work said to
them that Pharaoh had commanded to give them no chaff, but they should
go and gather such as they might find, and that their work should not
therefore be minished. Then the children were disperpled for to gather
chaff, and their masters awaited on them and bade them: Make an end of
your work as ye were wont to do when that chaff was delivered to you.
And thus they were put to more affliction, and would make them to make
as many tiles as they did tofore. Then the upperest of the children of
Israel came to Pharaoh and complained saying: Why puttest thou thy
servants to such affliction? He said to them: Ye be so idle that ye say
ye will go and sacrifice to your God; ye shall have no chaff given to
you, yet ye shall work your customable work and gather your chaff also.

Then the eldest and the upperest among the He