Joeli 1
1 Hili ni neno la Bwana lililomjia Yoeli mwana wa Pethueli.
The Lord sent a message through 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?
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 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 it to their children, and their children tell the next 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 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 Amkeni, enyi walevi, lieni! Omboleza, ninyi nyote mnywao divai, kwa sababu divai nzuri imekatwa kutoka kwenu.
Wake up, you drunks, and weep! Howl you wine-drinkers, because the new wine has been suddenly taken away 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.
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 Amelifanya shamba langu la mizabibu kuwa mahali pa kutisha, amechukua mtini wangu. Amechukua gome lake na kulitupa mbali; matawi yake yamekuwa meupe.
It has ruined my grapevines and destroyed my fig trees, stripping them completely and reducing them to stumps, white and bare.
8 Omboleza kama bikira aliyevaa magunia kwa kifo cha mumewe mdogo.
Mourn like a bride dressed in sackcloth, mourning the death of her husband-to-be.
9 Sadaka ya unga na sadaka ya kinywaji zimekatiliwa mbali na nyumba ya Bwana. Makuhani, watumishi wa Bwana, huomboleza.
Grain and wine offerings have stopped in the Temple. The priests who minister before the Lord are in mourning.
10 Mashamba yameharibiwa, na nchi imekuwa dhaifu. Kwa maana nafaka imeharibiwa, divai mpya imekauka, na mafuta yameharibiwa.
The fields are devastated, the earth mourns; for the grain is ruined, the new wine dries up, the olive oil fails.
11 Oneni aibu, enyi wakulima, lieni, wakulima wa mzabibu, kwa ngano na shayiri. Kwa mavuno ya mashamba yameharibika.
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 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 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 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.
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 Iteni kwa funga takatifu, na iteni kusanyiko takatifu. Mkusanyieni wazee na wenyeji wote wa nchi wafike nyumbani kwa Bwana Mungu wenu, na kumlilia Bwana.
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 Ole kwa siku! Kwa maana siku ya Bwana imekaribia. Nayo itakuja uharibifu kutoka kwa Mwenyezi.
What a terrible day! For the day of the Lord is near, 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?
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 Mbegu zinaoza chini ya udongo wake, ghala zimekuwa ukiwa, na mabanda yamevunjika, kwa maana nafaka imeharibika.
Seeds planted in the ground shrivel up; the storehouses are empty, the barns are torn down because the grain has dried up.
18 Jinsi wanyama hulia! Ng'ombe wa ngome wanateseka kwa sababu hawana malisho. Pia, makundi ya kondoo yanateseka.
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 Bwana, nakulilia wewe. Kwa maana moto umekula malisho ya jangwani, na moto umeteketeza miti yote ya mashamba.
To you, Lord, I cry out! For fire has destroyed the pastures in the wilderness; flames have burned up all the orchards.
20 Hata wanyama wa mashambani wanapanda kwa ajili yako, kwa maana mito ya maji imekauka, na moto umekula malisho ya jangwani.
Even the wild animals long for you because the streams have dried up, and fire has destroyed the pastures in the wilderness.
