But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.
But the king must not acquire many horses for himself, and he must not send people back to Egypt to get more horses, because the LORD has told you that you should never go back to Egypt again.
God is warning that Israel's future king should not build up military power through horses from Egypt, and the people should never return to their former place of slavery.
📚 Historical Context
In the time of Moses, as the Israelites were preparing to enter the Promised Land, God provided instructions for their future kings to prevent them from adopting the ways of surrounding nations. Horses were symbols of military strength and were often sourced from Egypt, a land of past slavery and temptation that represented reliance on human power rather than divine provision. God explicitly forbade the king from multiplying horses or leading the people back to Egypt to emphasize total dependence on Him.
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