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Habakkuk 3:17

in Habakkuk 3

Though the fig tree does not bud and no fruit is on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the sheep are cut off from the fold and no cattle are in the stalls,

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

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:

KJV

Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:

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This verse in Habakkuk 3

Commentary

9 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Habakkuk · Written before 420.

(Verse 17.) For the fig tree will not blossom, and there will be no fruit on the vines. The work of the olive tree will deceive, and the fields will not produce food. The flock will be cut off from the fold, and there will be no cattle in the stalls. According to the Septuagint: For the fig tree will not bear fruit, and there will be no blossoms on the vines. The work of the olive tree will deceive, and the fields will not produce food.

This site's exposition

the fig tree shall not blossom

on Habakkuk 3:17-19

The chapter's summit strips away every prop faith might lean on: although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines, the labour of the olive shall fail, and the flock shall be cut off from the fold, the total collapse of an agrarian economy's every resource named in one sentence. Against total loss stands the answer, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation, joy chosen rather than caused by circumstance, which Pusey and Henry read as the summit of Old Testament trust and the book's own answer to the complaint it opened with in chapter 1. The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places closes the book on agility rather than collapse, the note to the chief singer on stringed instruments handing the whole prayer to Israel's worship.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on the Song of Habakkuk · Written before 735.

proposed

For the fig tree will not bear fruit, and there will be no generation in the vineyards. The work of the olive will lie and the fields will not yield food. The sheep have failed from their food, and there will be no oxen in …

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

Although the fig tree shall not blossom,.... Or rather, as the Septuagint version, "shall not bring forth fruit"; since the fig tree does not bear blossoms and flowers, but puts forth green figs at once.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Note, When we are in the full enjoyment of our creature comforts we should consider that there may come a time when we shall be stripped of them all, and use them accordingly, as not abusing them, 1 Cor. vii. He resolves to delight and triumph in God notwithstanding; when all is gone his God is not gone (

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

1 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth. 2 O L ORD , I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O L ORD , revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy. This chapter is entitled a prayer of Habakkuk.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Although - literally, For The fig tree shall not blossom - The prophet repeats his confidence in God, premising his knowledge that all human hopes should fail. I know, he says, all stay and support shall fail; he numbers from the least to the greatest, the fruits of trees, the fig, vine and olive, for sweetness, gladness, cheerfulness Psa 104:15. whereof the well-being of the vine and fig tree furnishes the proverbial picture of peace and rest.
2 more voices on this verse

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Thus Habakkuk, beginning his prayer with trembling, ends it with a song of triumph (Job 13:15; 43:3, 5). labour of the olive--that is, the fruit expected from the olive. fail--literally, "lie," that is, disappoint the hope (Isa 58:11, Margin). fields--from a Hebrew root meaning "to be yellow"; as they look at harvest-time. meat--food, grain. cut off--that is, cease.

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Although the fig tree shall not blossom - תפרח tiphrach, “shall not flourish,” shall not put forth its young figs, for the fig tree does not blossom. The young figs appear as soon as the old ones are ripe, as I have often had occasion to observe. This verse most nervously paints the desolate state of the land of Judea during the captivity. In its hemistich form, it may be translated thus: - For the fig tree shall not flourish, And there shall be no fruit on the vines; The fruit of the olive shall fail, And the fields shall supply no food: The flocks shall be cut off from the fold, And no herds shall be found in the stalls: Yet in Jehovah will I exult; I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Vulgate has: - Yet I in the Lord will rejoice, And will exult in Jesus my God. The Targum countenances this version: - - ואנא במימרא דיי אבוע veana bemeimra dayai abua, “But in the Word of the Lord will I rejoice,” i.e., the personal, substantial Word of Jehovah. These two verses give the finest display of resignation and confidence that I have ever met with. He saw that evil was at hand, and unavoidable, he submitted to the dispensation of God, whose Spirit enabled him to paint it in all its calamitous circumstances. He knew that God was merciful and gracious. He trusted to his promise, though all appearances were against its fulfillment; for he knew that the word of Jehovah could not fail, and therefore his confidence is unshaken. No paraphrase can add any thing to this hymn, which is full of inexpressible dignity and elegance, leaving even its unparalleled piety out of the question.

The words behind it

20 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Jeremiah 5:17They will devour your harvest and food; they will consume your sons and daughters; they will eat up your flocks and herds; they will feed on your vines and fig trees. With the sword they will destroy the fortified cities in which you trust.”10 worksJoel 1:16–18Has not the food been cut off before our very eyes—joy and gladness from the house of our God?10 worksHaggai 2:16–17from that time, when one came expecting a heap of twenty ephahs of grain, there were but ten. When one came to the winepress to draw out fifty baths, there were but twenty.7 worksDeuteronomy 28:30–41You will be pledged in marriage to a woman, but another man will violate her. You will build a house but will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard but will not enjoy its fruit.7 worksDeuteronomy 28:15–18If, however, you do not obey the LORD your God by carefully following all His commandments and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:7 worksAmos 4:6–10“I beset all your cities with cleanness of teeth and all your towns with lack of bread, yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD.7 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Jeremiah 14:2–8“Judah mourns and her gates languish. Her people wail for the land, and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.6 worksJoel 1:10–13The field is ruined; the land mourns. For the grain is destroyed, the new wine is dried up, and the oil fails.6 worksJob 5:20In famine He will redeem you from death, and in battle from the stroke of the sword.6 worksDeuteronomy 8:8a land of wheat, barley, vines, fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of olive oil and honey;3 worksJoel 1:7It has laid waste My grapevine and splintered My fig tree. It has stripped off the bark and thrown it away; the branches have turned white.3 worksDeuteronomy 28:18The fruit of your womb will be cursed, as well as the produce of your land, the calves of your herds, and the lambs of your flocks.3 worksJeremiah 12:4How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field be withered? Because of the evil of its residents, the animals and birds have been swept away, for the people have said, “He cannot see what our end will be.”3 worksLeviticus 26:32And I will lay waste the land, so that your enemies who dwell in it will be appalled.2 works1 Kings 18:5Then Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go throughout the land to every spring and every valley. Perhaps we will find grass to keep the horses and mules alive so that we will not have to destroy any livestock.”2 worksMalachi 3:11I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your land, and the vine in your field will not fail to produce fruit,” says the LORD of Hosts.2 worksExodus 9:31(Now the flax and barley were destroyed, since the barley was ripe and the flax was in bloom;2 worksIsaiah 19:15There is nothing Egypt can do—head or tail, palm or reed.2 works

Where this verse connects

1 approved connection.

  • Written to them

    topics/loss

    Although the fig tree shall not blossom

    Source: MannaFest topical index

The walk

5 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Jeremiah 5:17

    They will devour your harvest and food; they will consume your sons and daughters; they will eat up your flocks and herds; they will feed on your vines and fig trees. With the sword…

    it leads to

    • Leviticus 26:16

      then this is what I will do to you: I will bring upon you sudden terror, wasting disease, and fever that will destroy your sight and drain your life. You will sow your seed…

    • Deuteronomy 28:33

      A people you do not know will eat the produce of your land and of all your toil. All your days you will be oppressed and crushed.

    • Hosea 8:14

      Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces; Judah has multiplied its fortified cities. But I will send fire upon their cities, and it will consume their citadels.

    • Judges 6:3–4

      Whenever the Israelites would plant their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east would come up and invade them,

    • Habakkuk 3:17–18

      Though the fig tree does not bud and no fruit is on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the sheep are cut off from the fold…

Where this verse is studied

On this page

Studies1

About Habakkuk

Habakkuk: the study guide →Read Habakkuk 3 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on the Song of Habakkuk; Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Habakkuk; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Habakkuk 3 →