If the gain would have been immediate and the journey was short, they would have certainly, accompanied you, but the long journey was too difficult for them to justify for not accompanying you, they would even swear by Lord Allah: "If we were able, we would certainly, have set out with you". By doing so, they are destroying their soul, and Allah knows that indeed, they are the liars.
This verse denotes the character of hypocrites during the time of Messenger at Medina. Today the Fujjar including the aimless hypocrites who hide Adhikr—the Reminder—and their heedless followers who reject Adhikr are preferring bodily and worldly life forgetting Adhikr and the Hereafter. They are trying to extinguish the Light Adhikr by their mouths as explained in verse 9: 32. Instead of learning and teaching Lord’s Book—the Guidance—they are learning and teaching the books written by the 29 pseudo-prophets. Thus, they are hurrying for the Last Day. It is told in verse 63: 1 that the hypocrites are the liars. The wrongdoing-hypocrites who are forging lies upon Lord and their followers who are rejecting Lord’s Book will witness against their soul at the time of death as ‘indeed, they were disbelievers as explained in verses 6: 130 and 7: 37.
The odd-believer should propagate Adhikr into entire worlds testifying the verse 9: 33 even though Mushriks-the Arabic Quran reading Fujjar- are hating It. See explanation 3: 186-187; 4: 91 and 9: 23-24.