8:17Meaning
The inner claim of self-made wealth Moses anticipates what Israel might “say in your heart,” meaning an internal conclusion or self-talk. The claim is explicit: personal “power” and one’s own “hand” produced the wealth. The verse portrays wealth as something one can narrate as purely self-achieved.
Unit 2 (v. 18a): The commanded alternative—remember Yahweh
The next line pivots with “But,” replacing the inner boast with a deliberate practice: “you shall remember Yahweh your God.” Remembering here is not mere recall; it is treating Yahweh as the decisive reference point for interpreting success.
Unit 3 (v. 18b): Yahweh gives the capacity that leads to wealth
The reason for remembering is stated: Yahweh “gives you power to get wealth.” The focus is not only on receiving wealth directly, but on receiving the capacity/ability that makes wealth possible. The verse uses the same idea-word “power” as v. 17, redirecting it from self to Yahweh.
Unit 4 (v. 18c): Wealth-capacity linked to covenant continuity
A further purpose is added: this giving establishes Yahweh’s covenant, the one he “swore to your fathers,” and it is described as presently operative (“as at this day”). The text ties present economic ability to an ongoing historical commitment made earlier to Israel’s ancestors.