Habakkuk 3:17 (ASV)

Passage

For though the fig-tree shall not flourish, Neither shall fruit be in the vines; The labor of the olive shall fail, And the fields shall yield no food; The flock shall be cut off from the fold, And there shall be no herd in the stalls:

Nearby Context

Habakkuk 3:15 Thou didst tread the sea with thy horses, The heap of mighty waters.

Habakkuk 3:16 I heard, and my body trembled, My lips quivered at the voice; Rottenness entereth into my bones, and I tremble in my place; Because I must wait quietly for the day of trouble, For the coming up of the people that invadeth us.

Habakkuk 3:17 For though the fig-tree shall not flourish, Neither shall fruit be in the vines; The labor of the olive shall fail, And the fields shall yield no food; The flock shall be cut off from the fold, And there shall be no herd in the stalls:

Habakkuk 3:18 Yet I will rejoice in Jehovah, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

Habakkuk 3:19 Jehovah, the Lord, is my strength; And he maketh my feet like hinds` [feet], And will make me to walk upon my high places.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "though", "fig-tree", "shall", "flourish", "neither", "fruit", and "vines". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "though" and "fig-tree", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "I heard and my body trembled My..." into verse 18's "Yet I will rejoice in Jehovah I...", so "though" and "fig-tree" belong inside that flow. In Habakkuk context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

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