Joeli 1
1 Hili ni neno la Bwana lililomjia Yoeli mwana wa Pethueli.
The Lord’s message that came to Joel, 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, elders, pay attention, all inhabitants of the land. Has anything like this happened in your days, or in the days of your ancestors?
3 Waambie watoto wako kuhusu hilo, na waache watoto wako kuwaambie watoto wao, na watoto wao kizazi kijacho.
Recount it to your children; let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the generation that follows.
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 cutting locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten, that which the swarming locust has left, the hopping locust has eaten, and that which the hopping locust has left, the destroying locust has eaten.
5 Amkeni, enyi walevi, lieni! Omboleza, ninyi nyote mnywao divai, kwa sababu divai nzuri imekatwa kutoka kwenu.
Awake, drunkards, and weep, and wail, all drinkers of wine; the new wine 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 on my land, powerful, and numberless; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and its jaw-teeth are like those 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.
It has laid waste my vines, and barked my fig tree; it has peeled and cast it away, bleached are the branches.
8 Omboleza kama bikira aliyevaa magunia kwa kifo cha mumewe mdogo.
Wail as a bride, clad in sack-cloth, 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.
Cut off are the cereal and drink-offerings from the house of the Lord; in mourning are the priests, who minister at the Lord’s altar.
10 Mashamba yameharibiwa, na nchi imekuwa dhaifu. Kwa maana nafaka imeharibiwa, divai mpya imekauka, na mafuta yameharibiwa.
The fields are blasted, the land is in mourning, for ruined is the grain, the new wine fails and the oil is dried up.
11 Oneni aibu, enyi wakulima, lieni, wakulima wa mzabibu, kwa ngano na shayiri. Kwa mavuno ya mashamba yameharibika.
Be dismayed, farmers; wail, vine-dressers. For the wheat and the barley; for the harvest is lost from the fields.
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 fails to bear fruit, and the fig tree is drooping; the pomegranate, palm, and apple, all the trees of the field are dried up. The people’s joy withers.
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.
Put on sackcloth, and beat your breasts, priests; wail, ministers of the altar; come, lie all night in sack-cloth, ministers of God; for cereal-offering and drink-offering are cut off 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, summon an assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, cry to the Lord:
15 Ole kwa siku! Kwa maana siku ya Bwana imekaribia. Nayo itakuja uharibifu kutoka kwa Mwenyezi.
Alas for the day! Near at hand is the day of the Lord, and as destruction from the Almighty it comes.
16 Je, chakula hakikukatiliwa mbali mbele ya macho yetu, na furaha na kicheko kutoka nyumbani mwa Mungu wetu?
Is not food cut off from before us, gladness and joy from the house of our God?
17 Mbegu zinaoza chini ya udongo wake, ghala zimekuwa ukiwa, na mabanda yamevunjika, kwa maana nafaka imeharibika.
The grains shrivel under their hoes, the storehouses are desolate, the barns 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 the herds of cattle bellow in distress, for they have no pasture! The flocks of sheep are forlorn.
19 Bwana, nakulilia wewe. Kwa maana moto umekula malisho ya jangwani, na moto umeteketeza miti yote ya mashamba.
To you, the Lord, I cry. For fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and flame has scorched 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.
The wild animals also look up to you longingly, for the water-courses are dried up, and fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
