< Joel 1 >

1 The word of Jehovah that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.
Ilizwi likaThixo lafika kuJoweli indodana kaPhethuweli.
2 Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers?
Zwanini lokhu, lina badala; lalelani lonke lina elihlala elizweni. Into enjengale seyake yenzakala na ensukwini zenu loba ensukwini zabokhokho benu?
3 Tell your children of it, and [let] your children [tell] their children, and their children another generation:
Kutsheleni abantwabenu, abantwabenu labo batshele ababantwababo, abantwababo batshele isizukulwane esilandelayo.
4 that which the palmer-worm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten.
Lokho okutshiywe ngumtshitshi wezintethe kudliwe yisikhongwane; okutshiywe yisikhongwane kudliwe yibuyane; okutshiywe yibuyane kudliwe ngezinye intethe.
5 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine: for it is cut off from your mouth.
Vukani lina zidakwa likhale! Lilani lonke lina banathi bewayini; lilani ngenxa yewayini elitsha, ngoba lihluthunwe ezindebeni zenu.
6 For a nation is come up upon my land, strong and without number: his teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a lioness.
Isizwe sihlasele ilizwe lami, silamandla asingeke sibalwe, silamazinyo esilwane, ingavula zesilwanekazi.
7 He hath made my vine a desolation, and barked my fig-tree; he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away: its branches are made white.
Sesitshabalalise izivini zami, saqothula lezihlahla zami zemikhiwa. Sebule amaxolo azo sawaphosela khatshana, ingatsha zazo zasala sezimhlophe nke.
8 Wail like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.
Lilani njengentombi egqoke isaka idabukele umyeni wobutsha bayo.
9 The oblation and the drink-offering are cut off from the house of Jehovah; the priests, Jehovah's ministers, mourn.
Umnikelo wamabele lomnikelo wokunathwa kususiwe endlini kaThixo. Abaphristi bayalila, bona abakhonzayo phambi kukaThixo.
10 The field is laid waste, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted, the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth.
Amasimu atshabalele, umhlabathi womile; amabele onakele, iwayini elitsha liphelile, amafutha kawasekho.
11 Be ashamed, ye husbandmen; howl, ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley: because the harvest of the field hath perished.
Delani, lina balimi, lilani, lina balimi bamavini; bubulelani ingqoloyi lebhali, ngoba isivuno sensimu sitshabalalisiwe.
12 The vine is dried up, and the fig-tree languisheth; the pomegranate-tree, the palm also and the apple-tree; all the trees of the field are withered, yea, joy is withered away from the children of men.
Ivini lomile lomkhiwa ubunile; iphomegranathi, lelala lesihlahla sama-aphula, zonke izihlahla zeganga, zomile. Impela ukuthokoza kwabantu kuphelile.
13 Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests; howl, ministers of the altar; come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the oblation and the drink-offering are withholden from the house of your God.
Vunulani amasaka, lina baphristi, likhale. Lilani lina elikhonzayo phambi kwe-alithari. Wozani, lilale lembethe amasaka ebusuku, lina elikhonzayo phambi kukaNkulunkulu wami, ngoba iminikelo yamabele leminikelo yokunathwayo igodliwe, kayanikelwa endlini kaNkulunkulu wenu.
14 Hallow a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly, gather the elders, [and] all the inhabitants of the land to the house of Jehovah your God, and cry unto Jehovah.
Memezelani ukuzila okungcwele; bizani ibandla elingcwele. Memani abadala labo bonke abahlala elizweni, baye endlini kaThixo uNkulunkulu wenu, likhale kuThixo.
15 Alas for the day! for the day of Jehovah is at hand, and as destruction from the Almighty shall it come.
Maye ngalolosuku! Ngoba usuku lukaThixo seluseduze; luzafika njengencithakalo evela kuSomandla.
16 Is not the food cut off before our eyes, joy and gladness from the house of our God?
Ukudla akuzange kuphele phambi kwamehlo ethu, lokuthokoza kanye lokuthaba endlini kaNkulunkulu wethu na?
17 The seeds are rotten under their clods, the granaries are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered.
Inhlanyelo itshwabhene ngaphansi kwamagade. Izindlu zamabele zingamanxiwa, iziphala zidiliziwe, ngoba amabele kawasekho.
18 How do the beasts groan! The herds of cattle are bewildered, for they have no pasture; the flocks of sheep also are in suffering.
Yeka ukukhala kwezinkomo! Imihlambi yenkomo iyaphithizela ngoba kayilamadlelo; lemihlambi yezimvu iyahlupheka.
19 To thee, Jehovah, do I cry; for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned up all the trees of the field.
Ngiyakhala kuwe Thixo, ngoba umlilo usuqede amadlelo lamalangabi asetshise zonke izihlahla zeganga.
20 The beasts of the field also cry unto thee; for the water-courses are dried, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
Lezinyamazana zeganga zifuna wena; izifula zamanzi sezicitshile njalo lomlilo usuqede amadlelo.

< Joel 1 >