And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish ought thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God.
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 demands the same quota of bricks with no abatement, though the Israelites now fetch their own straw. Their cry to sacrifice does not spring from true religion but from the idleness they are given to, which he will not tolerate or excuse.
AI summary
tale--an appointed number of bricks. The materials of their labor were to be no longer supplied, and yet, as the same amount of produce was exacted daily, it is impossible to imagine more aggravated cruelty--a perfect specimen of Oriental despotism.