Joel 1
1 [I am] Joel, the son of Pethuel. [This is] a message that Yahweh gave to me.
| דבר יהוה אשר היה אל יואל בן פתואל׃ |
2 You leaders [of Israel], and everyone else who lives in this country, listen [to this message]! Nothing [RHQ] like this has ever happened during the time that we have lived or the time when our ancestors lived.
| שמעו זאת הזקנים והאזינו כל יושבי הארץ ההיתה זאת בימיכם ואם בימי אבתיכם׃ |
3 Tell your children about it, and tell your children to tell it to their children, and tell your grandchildren to tell it to their children.
| עליה לבניכם ספרו ובניכם לבניהם ובניהם לדור אחר׃ |
4 [I am talking about] the locusts that have eaten our crops. The first swarm of locusts came and cut [many of the leaves of the crops]; then another swarm came and ate [the rest of the leaves], then another swarm came hopping along, and finally another swarm came and they destroyed [everything else].
| יתר הגזם אכל הארבה ויתר הארבה אכל הילק ויתר הילק אכל החסיל׃ |
5 You people who are drunk, wake up! Wake up and wail loudly, because all the grapes are ruined, and so there will be no new wine [MTY]!
| הקיצו שכורים ובכו והיללו כל שתי יין על עסיס כי נכרת מפיכם׃ |
6 [Huge swarms of] locusts have entered our country. [They are like] [MET] a powerful army [that has very many soldiers], [with the result that] no one can count them. The locusts have teeth that are [as sharp as] the teeth of lions [DOU]!
| כי גוי עלה על ארצי עצום ואין מספר שניו שני אריה ומתלעות לביא לו׃ |
7 They have destroyed our grapevines and our fig trees [by] stripping off [and eating all] the bark, with the result that the branches are white [and (bare/have no leaves on them)].
| שם גפני לשמה ותאנתי לקצפה חשף חשפה והשליך הלבינו שריגיה׃ |
8 Cry like [SIM] a young woman cries when the young man to whom she was (engaged/promised to marry) has died.
| אלי כבתולה חגרת שק על בעל נעוריה׃ |
9 There is no grain or wine for us to offer [as sacrifices] at the temple, [so] the priests who serve Yahweh are mourning/weeping.
| הכרת מנחה ונסך מבית יהוה אבלו הכהנים משרתי יהוה׃ |
10 [The crops in] the fields have been ruined; [it is as though] [PRS] the ground is mourning. The grain has been destroyed, there are no [grapes to make] wine, and there is no [more olive] oil.
| שדד שדה אבלה אדמה כי שדד דגן הוביש תירוש אמלל יצהר׃ |
11 You farmers, grieve! You who take care of grapevines, wail, because the grain has been destroyed; there is no wheat or barley growing.
| הבישו אכרים הילילו כרמים על חטה ועל שערה כי אבד קציר שדה׃ |
12 The grapevines and the fig trees have withered, and the pomegranate [trees] and palm [trees] and apricot [trees] have also dried up. The people are no longer joyful.
| הגפן הובישה והתאנה אמללה רמון גם תמר ותפוח כל עצי השדה יבשו כי הביש ששון מן בני אדם׃ |
13 You priests, put on [rough] sack clothes and wail. You who serve God [by offering sacrifices] on the altar, wear those rough sack clothes all night [to show that you are mourning], because there is no grain or wine to be offered at the temple of your God.
| חגרו וספדו הכהנים הילילו משרתי מזבח באו לינו בשקים משרתי אלהי כי נמנע מבית אלהיכם מנחה ונסך׃ |
14 Tell the people that they should (fast/abstain from eating food). Tell the leaders and the other people to gather at the temple and to cry [out] to Yahweh [there].
| קדשו צום קראו עצרה אספו זקנים כל ישבי הארץ בית יהוה אלהיכם וזעקו אל יהוה׃ |
15 Terrible things are happening to us! It will soon be the time when Yahweh, [who is] the Almighty God, [will really punish us], [when he] will cause us to experience more disasters.
| אהה ליום כי קרוב יום יהוה וכשד משדי יבוא׃ |
16 Our crops are already gone, and no [one is] rejoicing at all [DOU] at the temple of our God.
| הלוא נגד עינינו אכל נכרת מבית אלהינו שמחה וגיל׃ |
17 [When we plant] seeds, [they do not grow]; they dry up in the ground, so there are no crops to harvest. Our barns/storehouses are empty; there is no grain [to store in them].
| עבשו פרדות תחת מגרפתיהם נשמו אצרות נהרסו ממגרות כי הביש דגן׃ |
18 Our cattle groan, searching for a pasture with some grass to eat, and the sheep bleat because they are suffering.
| מה נאנחה בהמה נבכו עדרי בקר כי אין מרעה להם גם עדרי הצאן נאשמו׃ |
19 Yahweh, I cry [out] to you, because our pastures and our forests have dried up in the hot sunshine [MET].
| אליך יהוה אקרא כי אש אכלה נאות מדבר ולהבה להטה כל עצי השדה׃ |
20 [It is as though] even the wild animals cry [out] to you because all the streams have dried up. The rivers and streams are all dry, and the grass in the pastures is all parched.
| גם בהמות שדה תערוג אליך כי יבשו אפיקי מים ואש אכלה נאות המדבר׃ |
