to “strength.”310 The word also indicates “faculty, power,” that is, the ability to effect something. The Lord’s blunt reminder declares that human agency is always insufficient to bring the Lord’s plans to fruition. The next negative, “nor by power” (bĕkōaḥ) indicates human resources in a more general sense (see Neh 4:10 where the same term describes the laborers’ strength).311 The preposition bĕ (NIV “by”) indicates agency or means.312 Together, the terms “might” and “power” form a hendiadys