< Joeli 1 >
1 Hili ni neno la Bwana lililomjia Yoeli mwana wa Pethueli.
The LORD’s word 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, you elders, and listen, all you inhabitants of the land! Has this ever happened 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 your children about it, and have your children tell their children, and their children, another generation.
4 Yale yaliyosazwa na tunutu yameliwa na nzige wakubwa; yale yaliyosazwa na nzige panzi wameyala; na yaliyosazwa na panzi yameliwa na madumadu
What the swarming locust has left, the great locust has eaten. What the great locust has left, the grasshopper has eaten. What the grasshopper has left, the caterpillar has eaten.
5 Amkeni, enyi walevi, lieni! Omboleza, ninyi nyote mnywao divai, kwa sababu divai nzuri imekatwa kutoka kwenu.
Wake up, you drunkards, and weep! Wail, all you 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 on my land, strong, and without number. His teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he has the fangs 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 stripped my fig tree. He has stripped its bark, and thrown it away. Its branches are made white.
8 Omboleza kama bikira aliyevaa magunia kwa kifo cha mumewe mdogo.
Mourn like a virgin dressed in 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 LORD’s house. The priests, the LORD’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 has dried up, and the oil languishes.
11 Oneni aibu, enyi wakulima, lieni, wakulima wa mzabibu, kwa ngano na shayiri. Kwa mavuno ya mashamba yameharibika.
Be confounded, you farmers! Wail, you vineyard keepers, for the wheat and for the barley; for the harvest of the field has 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 has dried up, and the fig tree withered— the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all of 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.
Put on sackcloth and mourn, you priests! Wail, you ministers of the altar. Come, lie all night in sackcloth, you ministers of my God, for the meal offering and the drink offering are withheld from your God’s house.
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 elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the LORD, your God, and cry to the LORD.
15 Ole kwa siku! Kwa maana siku ya Bwana imekaribia. Nayo itakuja uharibifu kutoka kwa Mwenyezi.
Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is at hand, and it will 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, 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 granaries are laid desolate. The barns are broken down, for the grain has withered.
18 Jinsi wanyama hulia! Ng'ombe wa ngome wanateseka kwa sababu hawana malisho. Pia, makundi ya kondoo yanateseka.
How the animals groan! The herds of livestock are perplexed, because they have no pasture. Yes, 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.
LORD, I cry to you, 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.
Yes, the animals of the field pant to you, for the water brooks have dried up, and the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.