UJoweli 1
1 Ilizwi leNkosi elafika kuJoweli indodana kaPethuweli.
The Lord sent a message through Joel, son of Pethuel.
2 Zwanini lokhu, badala, libeke indlebe, lonke bahlali belizwe. Kwake kwenzeka lokhu yini ensukwini zenu, kumbe lensukwini zaboyihlo?
Listen to this, elders; pay attention, everyone who lives in the land. Has anything ever happened like this before in your experience, or that of your forefathers?
3 Landiselani abantwana benu ngakho, labantwana benu abantwana babo, labantwana babo esinye isizukulwana.
Tell your children about it, and have your children tell it to their children, and their children tell the next generation.
4 Okutshiywe zintothoviyane isikhonyane sikudlile; lokutshiywe yisikhonyane iqhwagi likudlile; lokutshiywe liqhwagi inswabanda ikudlile.
What the cutting locusts left, the swarming locusts have eaten; what the swarming locusts left, the hopping locusts have eaten; what the hopping locusts left, the destroying locusts have eaten.
5 Phaphamani, zidakwa, likhale inyembezi, liqhinqe isililo, lonke banathi bewayini, ngenxa yewayini elitsha, ngoba liqunyiwe lasuka emlonyeni wenu.
Wake up, you drunks, and weep! Howl you wine-drinkers, because the new wine has been suddenly taken away from your mouth!
6 Ngoba isizwe senyukele elizweni lami, esilamandla, esingelanani; amazinyo aso angamazinyo esilwane, silamazinyo emihlathi esilwane esisikazi.
A nation has invaded my land: powerful and too many to count. Their teeth are like lion's teeth, their fangs like those of a lioness.
7 Senze ivini lami laba yincithakalo, lesihlahla sami somkhiwa saba zimvava; sakwebula lokukwebula, sakuphosela phansi, ingatsha zakho zaba mhlophe.
It has ruined my grapevines and destroyed my fig trees, stripping them completely and reducing them to stumps, white and bare.
8 Qhinqani isililo njengentombi emsulwa ebhinciswe isaka ngenxa yomyeni wobutsha bayo.
Mourn like a bride dressed in sackcloth, mourning the death of her husband-to-be.
9 Umnikelo wokudla lomnikelo wokunathwayo uqunyiwe wasuka endlini yeNkosi. Abapristi, izikhonzi zeNkosi, bayalila.
Grain and wine offerings have stopped in the Temple. The priests who minister before the Lord are in mourning.
10 Insimu ichithiwe, umhlabathi uyalila; ngoba amabele achithiwe, iwayini elitsha lomile, amafutha aphela amandla.
The fields are devastated, the earth mourns; for the grain is ruined, the new wine dries up, the olive oil fails.
11 Banini lenhloni, balimi, qhinqani isililo, baphathizivini, ngenxa yengqoloyi langenxa yebhali; ngoba isivuno sensimu sichithekile.
Be ashamed, farmers, and wail in sorrow, keepers of vineyards, over the wheat and the barley, for the crops from the fields are ruined.
12 Ivini libunile, lomkhiwa uphele amandla; ipomegranati, lesihlahla selala, lesihlahla se-aphula, zonke izihlahla zeganga zomile, ngoba intokozo ibunile yasuka ebantwaneni babantu.
The vines are shriveled, the fig trees are withered; the pomegranate, the palm, and the apricot trees—all the fruit trees have dried up, and at the same time the people's happiness has also dried up.
13 Bhincani, lilile, bapristi, qhinqani isililo, zikhonzi zelathi. Wozani, lilale ebusuku emasakeni, zikhonzi zikaNkulunkulu wami; ngoba umnikelo wokudla lomnikelo wokunathwayo kugodliwe endlini kaNkulunkulu wenu.
Dress in sackcloth, you priests, and mourn; weep, you who minister before the altar! Go and spend the night in sackcloth, you ministers of my God, for the grain and wine offerings have stopped in the Temple.
14 Yehlukanisani ukuzila ukudla, libize umhlangano onzulu, libuthanise abadala, labo bonke abahlali belizwe, endlini yeNkosi uNkulunkulu wenu, likhale eNkosini.
Proclaim a fast; call a sacred assembly. Have the elders and all people of the land gather in the Temple, and cry out to your God, to the Lord.
15 Maye ngalolosuku! Ngoba usuku lweNkosi luseduze, luzafika njengencithakalo evela kuSomandla.
What a terrible day! For the day of the Lord is near, it will come as destruction from the Almighty.
16 Ukudla kakuqunywanga yini phambi kwamehlo ethu, ukuthaba lentokozo kusuka endlini kaNkulunkulu wethu?
Haven't we seen our food taken away from us, right before our eyes? There is no joy and happiness in God's Temple.
17 Inhlanyelo iyabola ngaphansi kwamagade ayo; izibuya zingamanxiwa, iziphala zidilizelwe phansi, ngoba amabele abunile.
Seeds planted in the ground shrivel up; the storehouses are empty, the barns are torn down because the grain has dried up.
18 Yeka ukububula kwezifuyo! Imihlambi yenkomo ididekile, ngoba kayilalo idlelo; lemihlambi yezimvu iyahlupheka.
The farm animals moan with hunger. The herds of cattle wander everywhere because they can't find grass to eat; the flocks of sheep are suffering.
19 Ngiyakhala kuwe, Nkosi, ngoba umlilo uqedile amadlelo enkangala, lelangabi lilumathise zonke izihlahla zeganga.
To you, Lord, I cry out! For fire has destroyed the pastures in the wilderness; flames have burned up all the orchards.
20 Lenyamazana zeganga ziyakhala kuwe, ngoba izifudlana zamanzi zitshile, lomlilo uqede amadlelo enkangala.
Even the wild animals long for you because the streams have dried up, and fire has destroyed the pastures in the wilderness.
