Exodus 5:11

11 He says that you must go and get it for yourselves wherever you can find it, but you must still make the same number of bricks."

Exodus 5:11 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 5:11

Go ye, get ye straw, where you can find it
Before it was provided by the king, and brought to the brickkilns, but now they are bid to go and fetch it themselves, and get it where they could, whether in fields or barns; and if they were obliged to pay for it out of their labour; it was a greater oppression still:

yet not ought of your work shall be diminished;
they were to do the same work, and make the same number of bricks, as when straw was brought and given them; and no allowance made for waste of time in seeking, or expenses in procuring straw, which was very hard upon them.

Exodus 5:11 In-Context

9 Make them work harder and keep them busy, so that they won't have time to listen to a pack of lies."
10 The slave drivers and the Israelite foremen went out and said to the Israelites, "The king has said that he will not supply you with any more straw.
11 He says that you must go and get it for yourselves wherever you can find it, but you must still make the same number of bricks."
12 So the people went all over Egypt looking for straw.
13 The slave drivers kept trying to force them to make the same number of bricks every day as they had made when they were given straw.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.