Habakkuk 1:16 (YLT)

Passage

Therefore he doth sacrifice to his net, And doth make perfume to his drag, For by them <FI>is<Fi> his portion fertile, and his food fat.

Nearby Context

Habakkuk 1:14 And Thou makest man as fishes of the sea, As a creeping thing--none ruling over him.

Habakkuk 1:15 Each of them with a hook he hath brought up, He doth catch it in his net, and gathereth it in his drag, Therefore he doth joy and rejoice.

Habakkuk 1:16 Therefore he doth sacrifice to his net, And doth make perfume to his drag, For by them <FI>is<Fi> his portion fertile, and his food fat.

Habakkuk 1:17 Doth he therefore empty his net, And continually to slay nations spare not?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "therefore", "doth", "sacrifice", "make", "perfume", "drag", and "portion". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "therefore" and "doth", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "Each of them with a hook he..." into verse 17's "Doth he therefore empty his net And...", so "therefore" and "doth" 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 "therefore" and "doth" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.