Joel 1 | » |
1 The word of the Lord which came to Joel, the son of Pethuel.
2 Give ear to this, you old men, and take note, you people of the land. Has this ever been in your days, or in the days of your fathers?
3 Give the story of it to your children, and let them give it to their children, and their children to another generation.
4 What the worm did not make a meal of, has been taken by the locust; and what the locust did not take, has been food for the plant-worm; and what the plant-worm did not take, has been food for the field-fly.
5 Come out of your sleep, you who are overcome with wine, and give yourselves to weeping; give cries of sorrow, all you drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine; for it has been cut off from your mouths.
6 For a nation has come up over my land, strong and without number; his teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he has the back teeth of a great lion.
7 By him my vine is made waste and my fig-tree broken: he has taken all its fruit and sent it down to the earth; its branches are made white.
8 Make sounds of grief like a virgin dressed in haircloth for the husband of her early years.
9 The meal offering and the drink offering have been cut off from the house of the Lord; the priests, the Lord's servants, are sorrowing.
10 The fields are wasted, the land has become dry; for the grain is wasted, the new wine is kept back, the oil is poor.
11 The farmers are shamed, the workers in the vine-gardens give cries of grief, for the wheat and the barley; for the produce of the fields has come to destruction.
12 The vine has become dry and the fig-tree is feeble; the pomegranate and the palm-tree and the apple-tree, even all the trees of the field, are dry: because joy has gone from the sons of men.
13 Put haircloth round you and give yourselves to sorrow, you priests; give cries of grief, you servants of the altar: come in, and, clothed in haircloth, let the night go past, you servants of my God: for the meal offering and the drink offering have been kept back from the house of your God.
14 Let a time be fixed for going without food, have a holy meeting, let the old men, even all the people of the land, come together to the house of the Lord your God, crying out to the Lord.
15 Sorrow for the day! for the day of the Lord is near, and as destruction from the Ruler of all it will come.
16 Is not food cut off before our eyes? joy and delight from the house of our God?
17 The grains have become small and dry under the spade; the store-houses are made waste, the grain-stores are broken down; for the grain is dry and dead.
18 What sounds of pain come from the beasts! the herds of cattle are at a loss because there is no grass for them; even the flocks of sheep are no longer to be seen.
19 O Lord, my cry goes up to you: for fire has put an end to the grass-lands of the waste, and all the trees of the field are burned with its flame.
20 The beasts of the field are turning to you with desire: for the water-streams are dry and fire has put an end to the grass-lands of the waste.
The Bible in Basic English (BBE)
The Bible in Basic English (BBE) is a translation of the Bible that aims to make the scriptures accessible to people with limited English proficiency. Completed in 1941 by Professor Samuel Henry Hooke and a team of scholars, the BBE utilizes a simplified vocabulary of approximately 1,000 basic English words, along with additional words necessary to maintain the integrity of the biblical text. This approach ensures that the translation is easily understandable while still conveying the core messages and teachings of the Bible.
One of the defining features of the BBE is its commitment to simplicity and clarity. By using a restricted vocabulary and straightforward sentence structures, the BBE makes it easier for readers to grasp the fundamental ideas of the scriptures without being hindered by complex language. This makes the BBE particularly valuable for non-native English speakers, children, and individuals with limited literacy skills. The translation aims to break down language barriers, allowing a broader audience to engage with Bible teachings.
Despite its simplified language, the BBE strives to remain faithful to the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. The translators worked carefully to ensure that the essential meanings and theological concepts were preserved, even as they adapted the language to be more accessible. This balance of simplicity and fidelity to the original texts helps maintain the Bible’ s depth and spiritual richness while making it more approachable. The BBE’ s emphasis on clarity without sacrificing essential meaning has made it a useful tool for teaching and evangelism.
However, the BBE has faced some criticism, particularly from scholars and theologians who argue that the simplification process may lead to the loss of some nuances and deeper meanings present in the original languages. Some feel that the restricted vocabulary can oversimplify complex theological concepts, potentially limiting the reader’ s understanding of the full depth of the scriptures. Despite these criticisms, the Bible in Basic English remains a valuable resource for those seeking an easily understandable version of the Bible, providing a bridge for many to access the timeless messages contained within the holy scriptures.