Joeli 1
1 Hili ni neno la Bwana lililomjia Yoeli mwana wa Pethueli.
The word of Jehovah that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.
2 Sikieni haya, ninyi wazee, na sikieni, ninyi wenyeji wa nchi. Je! Hii imewahi kuwa kabla ya siku zenu au katika siku za baba zenu?
Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Has this been in your days, or in the days of your fathers?
3 Waambie watoto wako kuhusu hilo, na waache watoto wako kuwaambie watoto wao, na watoto wao kizazi kijacho.
Tell ye your sons of it, and let your sons tell their sons, and their sons another generation.
4 Yale yaliyosazwa na tunutu yameliwa na nzige wakubwa; yale yaliyosazwa na nzige panzi wameyala; na yaliyosazwa na panzi yameliwa na madumadu
That which the palmer-worm has left the locust has eaten, and that which the locust has left the canker-worm has eaten, and that which the canker-worm has left the caterpillar has eaten.
5 Amkeni, enyi walevi, lieni! Omboleza, ninyi nyote mnywao divai, kwa sababu divai nzuri imekatwa kutoka kwenu.
Awake, ye drunkards, and weep, and wail, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine, for it is cut off from your mouth.
6 Kwa maana taifa limekuja juu ya nchi yangu, imara na bila idadi. Meno yake ni meno ya simba, neye ana meno ya simba.
For a nation has come up upon my land, strong, and without number. His teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he has the jaw-teeth of a lioness.
7 Amelifanya shamba langu la mizabibu kuwa mahali pa kutisha, amechukua mtini wangu. Amechukua gome lake na kulitupa mbali; matawi yake yamekuwa meupe.
He has laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree. He has made it clean bare, and cast it away. The branches of it are made white.
8 Omboleza kama bikira aliyevaa magunia kwa kifo cha mumewe mdogo.
Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.
9 Sadaka ya unga na sadaka ya kinywaji zimekatiliwa mbali na nyumba ya Bwana. Makuhani, watumishi wa Bwana, huomboleza.
The meal offering and the drink offering are cut off from the house of Jehovah. The priests, Jehovah's ministers, mourn.
10 Mashamba yameharibiwa, na nchi imekuwa dhaifu. Kwa maana nafaka imeharibiwa, divai mpya imekauka, na mafuta yameharibiwa.
The field is laid waste; the land mourns. For the grain is destroyed, the new wine is dried up, the oil languishes.
11 Oneni aibu, enyi wakulima, lieni, wakulima wa mzabibu, kwa ngano na shayiri. Kwa mavuno ya mashamba yameharibika.
Be confounded, O ye husbandmen. Wail, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley, for the harvest of the field is perished.
12 Mizabibu imeharibika na miti ya mtini imekauka, miti ya mkomamanga, pia mitende, na miti ya epo - miti yote ya shambani imeharibika. Kwa furaha imeharibika kutoka kwa wana wa wanadamu.
The vine is withered, and the fig tree languishes. The pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field are withered. For joy has withered away from the sons of men.
13 Panda magunia na omboleza, enyi makuhani! Mwalia, enyi watumishi wa madhabahu. Njoo, ulala usiku wote kwenye magunia, enyi watumishi wa Mungu wangu. Maana sadaka ya unga na sadaka ya kinywaji zimezuiliwa nyumbani mwa Mungu wenu.
Gird yourselves with sackcloth, and lament, ye priests. Wail, ye ministers of the altar. Come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God. For the meal offering and the drink offering are withheld from the house of your God.
14 Iteni kwa funga takatifu, na iteni kusanyiko takatifu. Mkusanyieni wazee na wenyeji wote wa nchi wafike nyumbani kwa Bwana Mungu wenu, na kumlilia Bwana.
Sanctify a fast. Call a solemn assembly. Gather the old men and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of Jehovah your God, and cry to Jehovah.
15 Ole kwa siku! Kwa maana siku ya Bwana imekaribia. Nayo itakuja uharibifu kutoka kwa Mwenyezi.
Alas for the day! For the day of Jehovah is at hand, and it shall come as destruction from the Almighty.
16 Je, chakula hakikukatiliwa mbali mbele ya macho yetu, na furaha na kicheko kutoka nyumbani mwa Mungu wetu?
Is not the food cut off before our eyes, yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God?
17 Mbegu zinaoza chini ya udongo wake, ghala zimekuwa ukiwa, na mabanda yamevunjika, kwa maana nafaka imeharibika.
The seeds rot under their clods. The garners are laid desolate. The barns are broken down. For the grain is withered.
18 Jinsi wanyama hulia! Ng'ombe wa ngome wanateseka kwa sababu hawana malisho. Pia, makundi ya kondoo yanateseka.
How do the beasts groan! The herds of cattle are perplexed because they have no pasture, yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.
19 Bwana, nakulilia wewe. Kwa maana moto umekula malisho ya jangwani, na moto umeteketeza miti yote ya mashamba.
O Jehovah, to thee do I cry. For the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame has burned all the trees of the field.
20 Hata wanyama wa mashambani wanapanda kwa ajili yako, kwa maana mito ya maji imekauka, na moto umekula malisho ya jangwani.
Yea, the beasts of the field pant to thee, for the water brooks are dried up, and the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
