Habakkuk 3:17 (DBY)

Passage

For though the fig-tree shall not blossom, Neither shall fruit be in the vines; The labour of the olive-tree 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 walk through the sea with thy horses, The heap of great waters.

Habakkuk 3:16 I heard, and my belly trembled; My lips quivered at the voice; Rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in my place, That I might rest in the day of distress, When their invader shall come up against the people.

Habakkuk 3:17 For though the fig-tree shall not blossom, Neither shall fruit be in the vines; The labour of the olive-tree 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 he will make me to walk upon my high places. To the chief Musician. On my stringed instruments.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "though", "fig-tree", "shall", "blossom", "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 belly 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.