hand of God. And the scripture that was in the tables were the
ten commandments as fore be written. Joshua hearing the great noise of
the children of Israel said to Moses: I trow they fight beneath, which
answered and said: It is no cry of exhorting men to fight, ne noise to
compel me to flee, but I hear the noise of singing. When he approached
to them he saw the calf and the instruments of mirth, and he was so
wroth that he threw down the tables and brake them at the foot of the
hill, and ran and caught down the calf that they had made, and burnt
and smote it all to powder, which he cast into water and gave it to
drink to the children of Israel. Then said Moses to Aaron: What hath
this people done to thee that thou hast made to sin grievously? To whom
he answered: Let not my lord take none indignation at me, thou knowest
well that this people is prone and ready to sin. They said to me: Make
us gods that may go tofore us; we know not what is fallen to this Moses
that led us out of Egypt. To whom I said: Who of you that hath gold give
it me; they took and gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and
thereof came out this calf. And then said Moses: All they that be of
God's part and have not sinned in this calf let them join to me; and the
children of Levi joined to him, and he bade each man take a sword on his
side and take vengeance and slay every each his brother, friend, and his
neighbor that have trespassed. And so the children of Levi went and slew
thirty-three thousand of the children of Israel. And then said Moses: Ye
have hallowed this day your hands unto our Lord, and ye shall be
therefore blessed. The second day Moses spake to the people and said: Ye
have committed and done the greatest sin that may be. I shall ascend
unto our Lord again, and shall pray him for your sin. Then Moses
ascended again, and received afterward two tables again, which our Lord
bade him make. And therein our Lord wrote the commandments. And after,
our Lord commanded him to make an ark and a tabernacle: in which ark was
kept three things. First the rod with which he did marvels, a pot full
of manna, and the two tables with commandments. And then after Moses
taught them the law; how each man should behave him against other and
what he should do, and what he should not do, and departed them into
twelve tribes, and commanded that every man should bring a rod into the
Tabernacle. And Moses wrote each name on the rod, and Moses shut fast
th