King James Bible
"And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied;"
Moses describes the agricultural prosperity awaiting Israel in the Promised Land—livestock multiplication being a primary sign of wealth in ancient Near Eastern societies. This opening clause establishes material blessing as the context for the warning that follows in subsequent verses about forgetting God. The accumulation of precious metals represents commercial success and stored wealth beyond basic sustenance. This progression from livestock to currency shows increasing sophistication in prosperity, moving from pastoral to economic abundance. This comprehensive statement encompasses every form of increase—possessions, property, and influence. The repetition of "multiplied" throughout the verse emphasizes exponential growth, setting up the danger of pride and self-sufficiency that Moses warns against in the following verses.