Tafsir of Al-Ma'idah 5:24

(They said), indifferent to the two of them and their words, addressing Moses, peace be upon him, to manifest their persistence in their initial statement and to declare their defiance against him, peace be upon him: (O Moses, we will never enter it), meaning the land of the tyrants, let alone enter upon them while they are in their country, (as long as they remain therein). This is a substitute for "never" (abadan), a substitute of the part for the whole. It has also been said that it is a total-for-total substitution, or an explanatory apposition (ʿaṭf bayān), as it occurs between two indefinite nouns. Similar to this in substitution is the saying: "Honor your brother for time (al-dahr) as long as you are together; for death is sufficient for separation and distance," as the phrase "as long as you are together" is a substitute for "time."

(So go, you and your Lord, and fight), meaning: fight them and drive them out so that we may enter the land. They said this out of disparagement and mockery of Him, glory be to Him, and His Messenger, peace be upon him, and out of complete indifference. They intended their actual departure, as indicated by the extremity of their ignorance and the hardness of their hearts, and the contrast in the words of the Almighty: (We are sitting right here).

It is said that they meant their will and intention, as we might say: "I spoke to him, and he went to answer me," as if they had said: "So intend to fight them and set out for them." Al-Balkhi said: The meaning is "Go, you and your Lord [who] helps you," in which case the 'wa' (and) is for the state (ḥāl), and "you" is an initial (mubtadaʾ) whose predicate is omitted; however, this is contrary to the apparent meaning and is not supported by "and fight." They did not mention his brother Aaron, peace be upon both of them, nor the two men who had spoken, as if they did not deem their departure certain, or they did not care for their fighting. By "sitting," they meant not advancing, not necessarily the absence of retreating as well.