Go ye, get you straw where ye can find it: yet not ought of your work shall be diminished.
Cruel princes always find cruel servants willing to obey them, and this enmity against God's people breaks through all bounds of reason and justice. The scattered Israelites, forced to gather stubble while the work stays the same, made Pharaoh's tyranny known throughout Egypt; persecution never wins good-will, even from a despot's own subjects.
AI summary
Commenting on Exodus 5:10-14
Before, the king supplied straw to the brickkilns; now the people must fetch it themselves from fields or barns, and likely at their own expense. Yet they must produce the same number of bricks as when straw was provided to them, no allowance for wasted time or cost. The cruelty is exact.
AI summary
Pharaoh calls Moses's words lies, the claim that God appeared and demands a festival. He orders the work pressed harder so the people stay occupied and ignore those lying words. In verse 11, the emphasis is pointed: ye yourselves must fetch straw, not others for you as before; nothing is taken from your quota. The king drives the knife deeper with each word.
AI summary
Commenting on Exodus 5:9-11