1 Dama la Yahwe lakazha kuna Jowele, nkololo wa Phetuwele.
Juda unowigwa nge golomodzo le phashu ne bhamba
2 Teedzani imwi bathuntana!
Zhulani zebe mose bagali be shango iyeyi!
Apa kwakatongo shingikala kwakajali mu misi ye bupenyu gwenyu,
kene mu misi ye bupenyu gwa bobatategulu benyu kene?
3 Budzani bana benyu ngekwako,
bana benyu babudzebo bana babo,
bana be bana benyu babudzebo bana babo.
4 Kwakasiyiwa ne zwiwong'wani phashu dzakaja.
Kwakasiyiwa ne phashu magutegute akaja.
Kwakasiyiwa ne magutegute phashwana dzakaja.
5 Mukani imwi zwidakwa, mulile!
Kuwani mose imwi bang'wi be nkumbi we zhambi!
Kuwani ngobe matolegwa nkumbi unozipa pa milomo.
6 Itjaba tjakasima tjangina nge ngwa mu shango yangu.
Tjina masimba ne bunji gusibunji,
tjina meno anonga e shumba,
matungashulo atjo anonga e shumbakadzi.
7 Tjakathukudza mizhambi yangu,
tjakakumba mipaya yangu.
Tjakasubula makwati tjikaalashila pasi,
thabi dzayo dzatjisala dzili tjena.
8 Lilani se phokosha yakazwipomba nge jila le saka,
ili mu tjililo ngekwe nlume wakabe akambigilidza.
9 Tjipo tje mathunde ne tjipo tje tjing'o, zwakadzibisiwa kuyisiwa ku Ng'umba ya Yahwe.
Bapirisiti bashingili ba Yahwe, banolila.
10 Minda yathukudzika yabe makula,
ne pasi panolila,
ngekuti mathunde akathukudziwa,
nkumbi we zhambi unozipa wakapela,
mafuta e ntoba akapela.
11 Sunamwani imwi balimi,
lilani imwi balimi be nnda we mizhambi,
mulilile koroni ne mathunde e bhali,
ngobe minda yakafa.
12 Mizhambi yakafa,
mipaya yakawoma,
pomegiranati, nlala ne apuli,
miti yose imu nnda yakawoma.
Ee, nenge bathu bapelegwa nge shatho.
13 Muzwipombe mulile imwi Bapirisiti,
lilani imwi bashingili be tjibeso tjinopisigwa zwibhayilo.
Izhani bashingili be Ndzimu wangu, mupitshe busiku makazwipomba nge jila le saka,
ngobe tjipo tje mathunde ne tje tjing'o zwakadzibisiwa mu Ng'umba ye Ndzimu wenyu.
14 Muzwimisile kuzwinyima zojiwa!
Danani gubungano lakayengemala!
Kubunganyilani sholotjena ne bagali bose be shango,
ku Ng'umba ya Yahwe Ndzimu wenyu,
ngono mulilile kuna Yahwe.
15 Yee mme wee, ilelo zhuba!
Zhuba la Yahwe lasedzela.
Lozha se golomodzo linodwa ku Ndzimu Masimbawose.
16 Apa zojiwa azwizoshandusiwa mu mesho edu
ne kushatha ne ipepkhwe mu Ng'umba ye Ndzimu wedu kene?
17 Mbewu inoputa ili kusi kwe mavinga,
ng'umba dze mabiganyilo dzowa.
Matula akapkhwanyika,
ngobe mathunde akafa.
18 Zwithuwo zogomela seni!
Ng'ombe dzakadzimila koga,
ngobe kusina fulo,
nenge ngubi ye pkhwizi inodziyila.
19 Ndolilila kumuli, Yahwe,
ngobe moto wakapedza fulo mu shango,
nthuto ukapisa miti yose ye shango.
20 Nenge phuka dze shango dzomulilila,
ngobe hwobana dzakapkhwa ne
moto wakapedza fulo mu shango.
1 This is the Lord's message to Joel son of Pethuel.
The People Mourn the Destruction of the Crops
2 Pay attention, you older people;
everyone in Judah, listen.
Has anything like this ever happened
in your time or the time of your ancestors?
3 Tell your children about it;
they will tell their children,
who in turn will tell the next generation.
4 Swarm after swarm of locusts settled on the crops;
what one swarm left, the next swarm devoured.
5 Wake up and weep, you drunkards;
cry, you wine-drinkers;
the grapes for making new wine have been destroyed.
6 An army of locusts has attacked our land;
they are powerful and too many to count;
their teeth are as sharp as those of a lion.
7 They have destroyed our grapevines
and chewed up our fig trees.
They have stripped off the bark,
till the branches are white.
8 Cry, you people, like a young woman who mourns the death
of the man she was going to marry.
9 There is no grain or wine to offer in the Temple;
the priests mourn because they have no offerings for the Lord.
10 The fields are bare;
the ground mourns
because the grain is destroyed,
the grapes are dried up,
and the olive trees are withered.
11 Grieve, you farmers;
cry, you that take care of the vineyards,
because the wheat, the barley,
yes all the crops are destroyed.
12 The grapevines and fig trees have withered;
all the fruit trees have wilted and died.
The joy of the people is gone.
13 Put on sackcloth and weep,
you priests who serve at the altar!
Go into the Temple and mourn all night!
There is no grain or wine to offer your God.
14 Give orders for a fast;
call an assembly!
Gather the leaders
and all the people of Judah
into the Temple of the Lord your God
and cry out to him!
15 The day of the Lord is near,
the day when the Almighty brings destruction.
What terror that day will bring!
16 We look on helpless as our crops are destroyed.
There is no joy in the Temple of our God.
17 The seeds die in the dry earth.
There is no grain to be stored,
and so the empty granaries are in ruins.
18 The cattle are bellowing in distress
because there is no pasture for them;
the flocks of sheep also suffer.
19 I cry out to you, Lord,
because the pastures and trees are dried up,
as though a fire had burned them.
20 Even the wild animals cry out to you
because the streams have become dry.