Deuteronomy / Question
Deuteronomy warns against saying, “My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth” Deuteronomy 8:17. It redirects the credit to the LORD, who gives power to get wealth to confirm his covenant Deuteronomy 8:18. The warning is placed in a context about prosperity leading to forgetting the LORD Deuteronomy 8:11–14.
In Deuteronomy 8:17–18, Moses warns Israel about a specific inner temptation once they become secure: claiming their prosperity as self-made. The passage contrasts an inward boast (“my power…gotten me this wealth”) with a commanded act of remembering Yahweh. These verses sit within a longer exhortation in Deuteronomy 8 where Moses prepares Israel for life in the land after wilderness dependence. The chapter moves from remembering hardship and provision to warning about prosperity’s dangers: fullness can breed forgetfulness and self-confidence.
Deuteronomy 8:17–18 addresses a predictable story people tell themselves when life becomes secure: “My power and the strength of my hand got me this wealth” (verse 17). The text treats that claim as a heart-level conclusion, not merely public speech.
A careful answer keeps the immediate passage, the book's argument, and the whole-Bible storyline together, so the question is answered in context instead of as a detached idea.
Start with Deuteronomy 8:17, then read the surrounding section so the answer stays connected to the passage's flow.
17and [lest] you say in your heart, My power and the might of my hand has gotten me this wealth.