Joeli 1
1 Tala liloba oyo Yawe alobaki na nzela ya Joeli, mwana mobali ya Petueli:
The word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel.
2 — Bino bakambi ya bato, boyoka liloba oyo; bino nyonso, bavandi ya mokili, botia matoyi mpe boyoka! Boni, likambo ya boye esila kosalema na tango na bino to mpe na tango ya bakoko na bino?
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 Boyebisa yango epai ya bana na bino, mpe tika ete bana na bino bayebisa yango epai ya bana na bango; mpe bana na bango, na milongo ya bato oyo bakoya na sima.
Talk this over with your sons, and your sons with their sons, and their sons with another generation.
4 Matiti oyo mampinga ya mabanki etiki, mabanki minene elie yango; oyo mabanki minene etiki, mabanki mike elie yango; oyo mabanki mike etiki, mabanki mosusu elie yango.
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 Bino balangwi masanga, bolamuka mpe bolela; bolela, bino nyonso bameli vino. Pamba te babotoli bino vino ya sika na bibebu.
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 Ekolo moko ya bapaya ebundisi mokili na Ngai, ezali na nguya makasi mpe bakokoka te kotanga motango ya bato na yango. Minu na yango ezali lokola minu ya nkosi ya mobali, mpe mbanga na yango, lokola mbanga ya nkosi ya mwasi.
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 Ekolo yango ekomisi elanga na Ngai ya vino lokola esobe mpe ekati-kati banzete na Ngai ya figi, elongoli banzete na Ngai nyonso baposo, ebwaki yango mpe etiki bitape na yango pembe.
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 Bosala matanga lokola elenge mwasi oyo alati pili mpo na kolela mobandami na ye.
Lament like a betrothed virgin, wrapped in sackcloth at the loss of the husband of her youth.
9 Makabo ya bambuma mpe ya masanga ezali kopesama lisusu te na Tempelo ya Yawe. Banganga-Nzambe, basali ya Nkolo, bazali na matanga.
Sacrifice and libation have perished from the house of the Lord; the priests who are ministers of the Lord have mourned.
10 Bilanga ebebisami, mabele ekawuki, mbuma ya ble ezali lisusu te, vino esili mpe mafuta ezali lisusu te.
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 Bino basali bilanga, bozala na soni; bino baloni vino, bolela mpo na mbuma ya ble mpe ya orje, pamba te milona ebebisami.
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 Bilanga ya vino ekawuki, banzete ya figi elembi-lembi, banzete ya grenade, ya mbila mpe ya pome, banzete nyonso ya bilanga esili kokawuka. Solo, esengo ya bato esili.
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 Oh bino Banganga-Nzambe, bolata basaki mpe bolela. Bino bato oyo bosalaka na etumbelo, bolela. Bino basali ya Nzambe na ngai, boya, bolata basaki butu mobimba. Pamba te makabo ya bambuma mpe ya masanga ezali kopesama lisusu te na Ndako ya Nzambe na bino.
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 Bopanza sango ya kokila bilei, bobengisa bato na mayangani ya bule, bobengisa bakambi mpe bavandi nyonso ya mokili ete baya na Ndako ya Nzambe na bino mpe bolela epai na Yawe.
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 Mawa na mokolo wana! Pamba te mokolo ya Yawe ekomi pene; ekoya lokola libebi oyo ewuti epai na Nkolo-Na-Nguya-Nyonso.
“Ah, ah, ah, the day!” For the day of the Lord is near, and it will arrive, like a devastation, before the powerful.
16 Boni, wuta na Ndako ya Nzambe mpe na miso na biso, balongoli te bilei, esengo mpe kosepela?
Has not your nourishment perished from before your eyes, joy and gladness from the house of our God?
17 Bankona ekawuki na se ya mabele, bibombelo etikali lisusu na eloko te, bibombelo ya bambuma ebukani mpo ete ble ezali lisusu te.
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 Tika ete ngombe elela! Bibwele ekomi kotelengana, pamba te matiti ya kolia etikali lisusu te; ezala bameme to bantaba ekomi na pasi.
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 Oh Yawe, Yo nde nazali kobelela, pamba te moto ezikisi matiti mpe banzete nyonso ya bilanga.
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 Ezala banyama ya zamba ezali kotalela Yo, pamba te miluka ekawuki mpe moto ezikisi bilanga.
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.
