Deuteronomy 8:13 (ASV)

Passage

and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied;

Nearby Context

Deuteronomy 8:11 Beware lest thou forget Jehovah thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his ordinances, and his statutes, which I command thee this day:

Deuteronomy 8:12 lest, when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein;

Deuteronomy 8:13 and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied;

Deuteronomy 8:14 then thy heart be lifted up, and thou forget Jehovah thy God, who brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage;

Deuteronomy 8:15 who led thee through the great and terrible wilderness, [wherein were] fiery serpents and scorpions, and thirsty ground where was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "herds", "flocks", "multiply", "silver", "gold", "multiplied", "thou", and "hast". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "herds" and "flocks", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "lest when thou hast eaten and art..." into verse 14's "then thy heart be lifted up and...", so "herds" and "flocks" belong inside that flow. In Deuteronomy context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "herds" and "flocks" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.