Joel 1
1 The word of the Lord is this, that was maad to Joel, the sone of Phatuel.
[I am] Joel, the son of Pethuel. [This is] a message that Yahweh gave to me.
2 Elde men, here ye this, and alle dwelleris of the lond, perseyue ye with eeris. If this thing was don in youre daies, ether in the daies of youre fadris.
You leaders [of Israel], and everyone else who lives in this country, listen [to this message]! Nothing [RHQ] like this has ever happened during the time that we have lived or the time when our ancestors lived.
3 Of this thing telle ye to your sones, and your sones telle to her sones, and the sones of hem telle to another generacioun.
Tell your children about it, and tell your children to tell it to their children, and tell your grandchildren to tell it to their children.
4 A locuste eet the residue of a worte worm, and a bruke eet the residue of a locuste, and rust eet the residue of a bruke.
[I am talking about] the locusts that have eaten our crops. The first swarm of locusts came and cut [many of the leaves of the crops]; then another swarm came and ate [the rest of the leaves], then another swarm came hopping along, and finally another swarm came and they destroyed [everything else].
5 Drunken men, wake ye, and wepe; and yelle ye, alle that drynken wyn in swetnesse; for it perischide fro youre mouth.
You people who are drunk, wake up! Wake up and wail loudly, because all the grapes are ruined, and so there will be no new wine [MTY]!
6 For whi a folc strong and vnnoumbrable stiede on my lond. The teeth therof ben as the teeth of a lioun, and the cheek teeth therof ben as of a whelp of a lioun.
[Huge swarms of] locusts have entered our country. [They are like] [MET] a powerful army [that has very many soldiers], [with the result that] no one can count them. The locusts have teeth that are [as sharp as] the teeth of lions [DOU]!
7 It settide my vyner in to desert, and took awei the riynde of my fige tre. It made nakid and spuylide that vyner, and castide forth; the braunchis therof ben maad white.
They have destroyed our grapevines and our fig trees [by] stripping off [and eating all] the bark, with the result that the branches are white [and (bare/have no leaves on them)].
8 Weile thou, as a virgyn gird with a sak on the hosebonde of hir tyme of mariage.
Cry like [SIM] a young woman cries when the young man to whom she was (engaged/promised to marry) has died.
9 Sacrifice and moist sacrifice perischide fro the hous of the Lord; and preestis, the mynystris of the Lord, moureneden.
There is no grain or wine for us to offer [as sacrifices] at the temple, [so] the priests who serve Yahweh are mourning/weeping.
10 The cuntrey is maad bare of puple. The erthe mourenyde; for whete is distried. Wyn is schent, and oile was sijk, ether failide.
[The crops in] the fields have been ruined; [it is as though] [PRS] the ground is mourning. The grain has been destroyed, there are no [grapes to make] wine, and there is no [more olive] oil.
11 The erthe tilieris ben schent, the vyn tilieris yelliden on wheete and barli; for the ripe corn of the feeld is perischid.
You farmers, grieve! You who take care of grapevines, wail, because the grain has been destroyed; there is no wheat or barley growing.
12 The vyner is schent; and the fige tre was sijk. The pomgarnate tre, and the palm tre, and the fir tre, and alle trees of the feeld drieden vp; for ioie is schent fro the sones of men.
The grapevines and the fig trees have withered, and the pomegranate [trees] and palm [trees] and apricot [trees] have also dried up. The people are no longer joyful.
13 Ye prestis, girde you, and weile; ye mynystris of the auter, yelle. Mynystris of my God, entre ye, ligge ye in sak; for whi sacrifice and moist sacrifice perischide fro the hous of youre God.
You priests, put on [rough] sack clothes and wail. You who serve God [by offering sacrifices] on the altar, wear those rough sack clothes all night [to show that you are mourning], because there is no grain or wine to be offered at the temple of your God.
14 Halewe ye fastyng, clepe ye cumpeny, gadere ye togidere elde men, and alle dwelleris of the erthe in to the hous of youre God; and crie ye to the Lord, A!
Tell the people that they should (fast/abstain from eating food). Tell the leaders and the other people to gather at the temple and to cry [out] to Yahweh [there].
15 A! A! to the dai; for the dai of the Lord is niy, and schal come as a tempest fro the myyti.
Terrible things are happening to us! It will soon be the time when Yahweh, [who is] the Almighty God, [will really punish us], [when he] will cause us to experience more disasters.
16 Whether foodis perischiden not bifore youre iyen; gladnesse and ful out ioie perischide fro the hous of youre God?
Our crops are already gone, and no [one is] rejoicing at all [DOU] at the temple of our God.
17 Beestis wexen rotun in her drit. Bernes ben distried, celeris ben distried, for wheete is schent.
[When we plant] seeds, [they do not grow]; they dry up in the ground, so there are no crops to harvest. Our barns/storehouses are empty; there is no grain [to store in them].
18 Whi weilide a beeste? whi lowiden the flockis of oxun and kien? for no lesewe is to hem; but also the flockis of scheep perischiden.
Our cattle groan, searching for a pasture with some grass to eat, and the sheep bleat because they are suffering.
19 Lord, Y schal crye to thee, for fier eet the faire thingis of desert, and flawme brente all the trees of the cuntrei.
Yahweh, I cry [out] to you, because our pastures and our forests have dried up in the hot sunshine [MET].
20 But also beestis of the feeld, as a corn floor thirstynge reyn, bihelden to thee; for the wellis of watris ben dried vp, and fier deuouride the faire thingis of desert.
[It is as though] even the wild animals cry [out] to you because all the streams have dried up. The rivers and streams are all dry, and the grass in the pastures is all parched.
