The English-Kalanga Bilingual Language Learning Bible
Old Testament
Read each verse in English beside its African Kalanga equivalent.
1 Samuel 21English
1 Samuwele 21African Kalanga
- English1
David went to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech trembled when he met him, and asked, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?”
African KalangaDafite wakazha ku Nobhu ku mpirisiti Ahimeleki. Ahimeleki kayenda etetema enonshanganidza, ngono kambhuzwa kati, “Ini wazha ngeno woga kusina waunaye?”
- English2
David answered Ahimelech the priest, “The king charged me with a certain matter and said to me, ‘No one is to know anything about your mission and your instructions.’ As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place.
African KalangaDafite wakashandula mpirisiti Ahimeleki eti, “Ndakadwiwa ndi mambo kuti ndithame tjimwe, ngono wakandidwa kati, ‘Akuna wakafanila ziba ngekwe nshingo uwo kene tjawadwiwa.’ Koga ngekwe bathu bangu, ndakababudza kwabanga ndishanganidza.
- English3
Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever you can find.”
African KalangaNgono ngwenu, wakabhatani mu luboko? Undipe zwiwunga zwishanu, kene tjimwe tjaungabe unatjo.”
- English4
But the priest answered David, “I don’t have any ordinary bread on hand; however, there is some consecrated bread here–provided the men have kept themselves from women.”
African KalangaMpirisiti akashandula Dafite eti, “Andina tjiwunga tjinojiwa koga, kuna tjiwunga tjakayengemala koga, ha kusi kuti balume bakazwithubukanya ne bakadzi.”
- English5
David replied, “Indeed women have been kept from us, as usual whenever I set out. The men’s things are holy even on missions that are not holy. How much more so today!”
African KalangaDafite kadabila mpirisiti eti, “Ku malebeswa, bakadzi bagala bakathubukanyiwa naswi se kwagala, andakazwimisila gwendo, mibili ye balume inogala yakayengemala nakuto guli gwendo gwakawolobeleka. Ngono nasi inowoyengemala kungapani kene?”
- English6
So the priest gave him the consecrated bread, since there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence that had been removed from before the Lord and replaced by hot bread on the day it was taken away.
African KalangaNdizo mpirisiti akampa tjiwunga tjakayengemala, ngobe kwakabe kusina tjiwunga ipapo, kuzhe kwe tjiwunga tje Tjipo tje Ndzimu, tjakabe tjadusiwa mbeli kwa Yahwe, tjokowomisigwa nge tjiwunga tjadwa pabhugwa.
- English7
Now one of Saul’s servants was there that day, detained before the Lord; he was Doeg the Edomite, Saul’s head shepherd.
African KalangaMu zhuba ilelo, kwakabe kuna mmwe we balanda ba Saulo akasungwa mbeli kwa Yahwe, zina lile liyi Doegi we N'edomu, nlauli we balisi be pkhwizi dza Saulo.
- English8
David asked Ahimelech, “Don’t you have a spear or a sword here? I haven’t brought my sword or any other weapon, because the king’s business was urgent.”
African KalangaDafite kabhuzwa Ahimeleke kati, “Amuna thumo kene bukano ipapa? Andizozha ne bukano gwangu kene tjimwe tje zwibhayano, ngobe nshingo wa mambo wabe undishaka tjinyolotjo.”
- English9
The priest replied, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here; it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you want it, take it; there is no sword here but that one.” David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.”
African KalangaMpirisiti kadabila eti, “Bukano gwa Goliati we Nfilisitiya wawakabulaya mu nkuku we Ela, guyapo gwakapetegwa nge jila shule kwe efodi, ha ugushaka ugutole, akuna gumwe ipapa kuzhe kwago.” Dafite kabe eti, “Akuna gumwe gunonga igo, undipe igo.”
- African Kalanga
Mu zhuba ilelo Dafite kamilika kayenda kuna Akhishi mambo we Gati, etizha Saulo.
- English11
But the servants of Achish said to him, “Isn’t this David, the king of the land? Isn’t he the one they sing about in their dances: “ ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands’?”
African KalangaBalanda ba Akhishi bakandwa bakati, “Apa ate Dafite iwoyu, mambo we shango iyeyi kene? Apa ate iye wabakabe bemba nge kukwe bezana beti, ‘Saulo wakabulaya tjiwulu tjitje, ngono Dafite kabulaya zwiwulu zwili gumi kene?’ ”
- African Kalanga
Matama abo kangina Dafite mu moyo kwazo, ngono katja Akhishi mambo we Gati kwazo.
- English13
So he pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard.
African KalangaNdizo kazwishanganya nsholo mbeli kwabo, kazwithama se unopenga, kapala mazhalilo ye mikoba nge nyala, akaletjedza mate awe ewungila mu ndedu.
- African Kalanga
Akhishi kadwa balanda babe eti, “Bonani, nlume iwoyu unopenga, apa whutini manzhisa kundili kene?
- English15
Am I so short of madmen that you have to bring this fellow here to carry on like this in front of me? Must this man come into my house?”
African KalangaApa ndoshaka bapengo imi, kwamazhisa nthu iwoyu kuwothamila bupengo mbeli kwangu? Apa nlume iwoyu wafanila ngina mu ng'umba yangu kene?”
Source: The English-Kalanga Bilingual Language Learning Bible, Ndzimu-unami Emmanuel Moyo, 2026. This online edition was extracted and reformatted from the PDF edition. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.