And the taskmasters hasted them, saying, Fulfil your works, your daily tasks, as when there was straw.
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
The taskmasters bore down on them relentlessly, demanding they produce the same daily quota of bricks without straw as they had made with it. They insisted the work remain unchanged even though the supply had been cut off. This was the cruelty of the demand.
AI summary
When the stubble fields grew distant and the men had to range farther for materials, meeting the brick quota became impossible, yet Pharaoh's officers beat them for falling short. This is the mark of Eastern tyranny: rule by the rod, as the very monuments of Egypt attest.
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