< Yoel 1 >

1 Esiae nye gbedeasi si va na Yoel, Petuel ƒe vi, tso Yehowa gbɔ.
The Lord’s message that came to Joel, son of Pethuel.
2 Miɖo to afii, mi Israel ƒe ame tsitsiwo! Mi anyigbadzitɔwo, mise nya sia ɖa. Le miaƒe agbemeŋkekewo katã me ɖe, miese nya sia tɔgbi kpɔa?
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 Mitsɔe xlɔ̃ nu mia viwoe eye woawo hã nagblɔe na wo viwo ne wòazu xotunya tso dzidzime yi dzidzime.
Recount it to your children; let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the generation that follows.
4 Nu siwo ʋetsuviwo ƒe ha gã agblẽ ɖi la, ʋetsuviwo aɖui, nu siwo ʋetsuviwo agblẽ ɖi la, ʋetrawo aɖui, eye nu siwo ʋetrawo agblẽ ɖi la, abɔwo aɖui.
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 Minyɔ, mi ahanomunɔwo, ne miafa avi hehehe, mi waintsunolawo, mifa avi, elabena woɖe wain le miaƒe nu me, eye miagakpɔ wain yeye ano o!
Awake, drunkards, and weep, and wail, all drinkers of wine; the new wine is cut off from your mouth.
6 Dukɔ gã aɖe va xɔ anyigba la katã dzi. Ŋɔdzi le wo ŋu ŋutɔ eye ame aɖeke mate ŋu axlẽ wo o, evɔ woƒe aɖuwo hã le ɖaɖam abe dzatatsu ƒe aɖuwo kple dzatanɔ ƒe tsyowo ene!
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 Wogblẽ nye waingble dome. Wogblẽ nye gbotiwo, wokuko tsro le atilɔwo ŋuti ƒiaƒiaƒia eye wofu ɣie.
It has laid waste my vines, and barked my fig tree; it has peeled and cast it away, bleached are the branches.
8 Mifa konyi abe ale si ɖetugbi si ƒe ŋugbetɔsrɔ̃ ku la wɔnɛ ene.
Wail as a bride, clad in sack-cloth, for the husband of her youth.
9 Nuɖuvɔsa kple nunovɔsa le Yehowa ƒe gbedoxɔ me nu tso; ale dɔwuame to na nunɔlaawo kple ame siwo subɔna le Yehowa ƒe aƒe me eye wole konyi fam.
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 Agblewo ɖi gbɔlo, anyigba ƒu kplakplakpla, bliwo dome gblẽ, wain yeye megali o, eye ami hã nu tso.
The fields are blasted, the land is in mourning, for ruined is the corn, the new wine fails and the oil is dried up.
11 Azɔ mi agbledelawo, dzika netso mia ƒo, eye mialulũ, mi waingbledelawo, mifa avi sesĩe. Mifa avi ɖe lu kple ƒo hã ta elabena nuŋeŋe nu tso le agble me.
Be dismayed, farmers; wail, vine-dressers. For the wheat and the barley; for the harvest is lost from the fields.
12 Wainkawo ku, gboti yrɔ, yevuboɖatiwo ƒu, detiwo kple atɔtɔŋutiwo kple agblemetiwo katã kura hã ku. Amegbetɔ ƒe dzidzɔ ɖe sia ɖe nu tso.
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 O mi nunɔlawo, mita akpanya eye mixa nu. Mifa avi, mi ame siwo subɔna le vɔsamlekpui la ŋgɔ, mitsi ŋu dɔ miafa avi zã blibo la katã, mi ame siwo subɔna le nye Mawu ŋkume. Elabena womagatsɔ nuɖuvɔsa kple nunovɔsa va miaƒe Mawu la ƒe aƒe me o.
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 Miɖo nutsitsidɔ kɔkɔe eye miyɔ takpekpe tɔxɛ. Miyɔ ame tsitsiwo kple anyigbadzinɔlawo katã yi ɖe Yehowa, miaƒe Mawu la ƒe gbedoxɔ me eye miafa avi le afi ma na Yehowa.
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 O ŋkeke ma! Elabena Yehowa ƒe ŋkeke la tu aƒe. Ava abe gbegblẽ ene tso Ŋusẽkatãtɔ la gbɔ.
Alas for the day! Near at hand is the day of the Lord, and as destruction from the Almighty it comes.
16 Ɖe nuɖuɖuwo mevɔ le mia ŋkume eye dzidzɔ kple aseyetsotso le miaƒe Mawu la ƒe gbedoxɔ me mawu enu oa?
Is not food cut off from before us, gladness and joy from the house of our God?
17 Nukuwo ƒaƒã ɖe woƒe gowo me, blivawo kple texɔwo tsi ƒuƒlu eye bli matsimatsiwo ku, heƒu ɖe bo dzi.
The grains shrivel under their hoes, the storehouses are desolate, the barns broken down, for the corn is withered.
18 Nyiwo le ŋeŋem, nyihawo le nu kpɔm nublanuitɔe, elabena nuɖuɖu meli na wo o, eye alẽhawo le fu kpem.
How the herds of cattle bellow in distress, for they have no pasture! The flocks of sheep are forlorn.
19 Yehowa, xɔ na mí! Elabena dzo bi gbe damawo, eye dzo ƒe aɖe fia atiwo katã le gbedzi.
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 Gbemelãwo gɔ̃ hã le ɣli dom be nàxɔ na yewo, elabena tsi mie le tɔʋuwo me, dzo bi gbe siwo le lãnyiƒewo keŋ.
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.

< Yoel 1 >