< Yoel 1 >

1 Esiae nye gbedeasi si va na Yoel, Petuel ƒe vi, tso Yehowa gbɔ.
The word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel.
2 Miɖo to afii, mi Israel ƒe ame tsitsiwo! Mi anyigbadzitɔwo, mise nya sia ɖa. Le miaƒe agbemeŋkekewo katã me ɖe, miese nya sia tɔgbi kpɔa?
Listen to this, elders, and pay close attention, all inhabitants of the land. Did this ever happen in your days or in the days of your fathers?
3 Mitsɔe xlɔ̃ nu mia viwoe eye woawo hã nagblɔe na wo viwo ne wòazu xotunya tso dzidzime yi dzidzime.
Talk this over with your sons, and your sons with their sons, and their sons with another generation.
4 Nu siwo ʋetsuviwo ƒe ha gã agblẽ ɖi la, ʋetsuviwo aɖui, nu siwo ʋetsuviwo agblẽ ɖi la, ʋetrawo aɖui, eye nu siwo ʋetrawo agblẽ ɖi la, abɔwo aɖui.
The locust has eaten what the caterpillar has left, and the beetle has eaten what the locust has left, and the mildew has eaten what the beetle has left.
5 Minyɔ, mi ahanomunɔwo, ne miafa avi hehehe, mi waintsunolawo, mifa avi, elabena woɖe wain le miaƒe nu me, eye miagakpɔ wain yeye ano o!
Rouse yourselves, you drunkards, and weep and wail, all you who delight in drinking wine; for it has been cut off from your mouth.
6 Dukɔ gã aɖe va xɔ anyigba la katã dzi. Ŋɔdzi le wo ŋu ŋutɔ eye ame aɖeke mate ŋu axlẽ wo o, evɔ woƒe aɖuwo hã le ɖaɖam abe dzatatsu ƒe aɖuwo kple dzatanɔ ƒe tsyowo ene!
For a nation has ascended over my land: strong and without number. His teeth are like the teeth of a lion, and his molars are like that of a lion’s young.
7 Wogblẽ nye waingble dome. Wogblẽ nye gbotiwo, wokuko tsro le atilɔwo ŋuti ƒiaƒiaƒia eye wofu ɣie.
He has put my vineyard into desolation, and he has pulled off the bark of my fig tree. He has stripped it bare and cast it away; its branches have become white.
8 Mifa konyi abe ale si ɖetugbi si ƒe ŋugbetɔsrɔ̃ ku la wɔnɛ ene.
Lament like a betrothed virgin, wrapped in sackcloth at the loss of the husband of her youth.
9 Nuɖuvɔsa kple nunovɔsa le Yehowa ƒe gbedoxɔ me nu tso; ale dɔwuame to na nunɔlaawo kple ame siwo subɔna le Yehowa ƒe aƒe me eye wole konyi fam.
Sacrifice and libation have perished from the house of the Lord; the priests who are ministers of the Lord have mourned.
10 Agblewo ɖi gbɔlo, anyigba ƒu kplakplakpla, bliwo dome gblẽ, wain yeye megali o, eye ami hã nu tso.
The region has been depopulated, the soil has mourned. For the wheat has been devastated, the wine has been disfigured, the oil has languished.
11 Azɔ mi agbledelawo, dzika netso mia ƒo, eye mialulũ, mi waingbledelawo, mifa avi sesĩe. Mifa avi ɖe lu kple ƒo hã ta elabena nuŋeŋe nu tso le agble me.
The farmers have been confounded, the vineyard workers have wailed over the crop and the barley, because the harvest of the field has perished.
12 Wainkawo ku, gboti yrɔ, yevuboɖatiwo ƒu, detiwo kple atɔtɔŋutiwo kple agblemetiwo katã kura hã ku. Amegbetɔ ƒe dzidzɔ ɖe sia ɖe nu tso.
The vineyard is in ruin, and the fig tree has languished. The pomegranate tree, and the palm tree, and the fruit tree, and all the trees of the field have withered. For joy has been thrown into disorder before the sons of men.
13 O mi nunɔlawo, mita akpanya eye mixa nu. Mifa avi, mi ame siwo subɔna le vɔsamlekpui la ŋgɔ, mitsi ŋu dɔ miafa avi zã blibo la katã, mi ame siwo subɔna le nye Mawu ŋkume. Elabena womagatsɔ nuɖuvɔsa kple nunovɔsa va miaƒe Mawu la ƒe aƒe me o.
Priests, gird yourselves and lament. Ministers of the altars, wail. Enter, ministers of my God, lie in sackcloth. For sacrifice and libation have passed away from the house of your God.
14 Miɖo nutsitsidɔ kɔkɔe eye miyɔ takpekpe tɔxɛ. Miyɔ ame tsitsiwo kple anyigbadzinɔlawo katã yi ɖe Yehowa, miaƒe Mawu la ƒe gbedoxɔ me eye miafa avi le afi ma na Yehowa.
Sanctify a fast, call an assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of your God. And cry out to the Lord:
15 O ŋkeke ma! Elabena Yehowa ƒe ŋkeke la tu aƒe. Ava abe gbegblẽ ene tso Ŋusẽkatãtɔ la gbɔ.
“Ah, ah, ah, the day!” For the day of the Lord is near, and it will arrive, like a devastation, before the powerful.
16 Ɖe nuɖuɖuwo mevɔ le mia ŋkume eye dzidzɔ kple aseyetsotso le miaƒe Mawu la ƒe gbedoxɔ me mawu enu oa?
Has not your nourishment perished from before your eyes, joy and gladness from the house of our God?
17 Nukuwo ƒaƒã ɖe woƒe gowo me, blivawo kple texɔwo tsi ƒuƒlu eye bli matsimatsiwo ku, heƒu ɖe bo dzi.
The mules have rotted in their own manure, the barns have been demolished, the wine cellars have been destroyed, because the grain has been ruined.
18 Nyiwo le ŋeŋem, nyihawo le nu kpɔm nublanuitɔe, elabena nuɖuɖu meli na wo o, eye alẽhawo le fu kpem.
Why have the animals groaned, the herds of cattle bellowed? because there is no pasture for them. Yes, and even the flocks of sheep have been lost.
19 Yehowa, xɔ na mí! Elabena dzo bi gbe damawo, eye dzo ƒe aɖe fia atiwo katã le gbedzi.
To you, O Lord, I will cry out, because fire has devoured the beauty of the wilderness, and the flame has burned all the trees of the countryside.
20 Gbemelãwo gɔ̃ hã le ɣli dom be nàxɔ na yewo, elabena tsi mie le tɔʋuwo me, dzo bi gbe siwo le lãnyiƒewo keŋ.
Yes, and even the beasts of the field have gazed up at you, like the dry ground thirsting for rain, because the fountains of waters have dried up, and fire has devoured the beauty of the wilderness.

< Yoel 1 >