And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens.
Their request is humble and reasonable: only three days to journey into the desert and sacrifice to their God, a common practice among nations. They give Pharaoh the warning that neglecting God's worship will bring judgment upon Israel, and he will lose his laborers. Yet he denies them and falsely charges them with idleness, slandering the servants of God as idle and their words as vain, so he might increase their burdens.
AI summary
Commenting on Exodus 5:3-9
Pharaoh sees the Israelites are already numerous and fears that granting them rest from labor will only increase their numbers further, the very opposite of what his forced burdens were meant to accomplish. He cannot fathom that worship of their God is their real aim; he reads it as a ruse for idleness.
AI summary
And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now [are] many, and ye make them rest from their burdens. (c) As though you would rebel.