The English-Kalanga Bilingual Language Learning Bible
Old Testament
Read each verse in English beside its African Kalanga equivalent.
1 Samuel 27English
1 Samuwele 27African Kalanga
- English1
But David thought to himself, “One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere in Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.”
African KalangaDafite kazwidwa kati, “Limwe le mazhuba iyawa ndowofila mu maboko a Saulo. Tjingandibhatsha whuti nditizhile ku shango ye Bafilisitiya. Ndiko Saulo kwaangatoboka kundishaka pamwe ne pamwe mu Iziraela, ndibuya ndimpudzumuka mu maboko.”
- English2
So David and the six hundred men with him left and went over to Achish son of Maoch king of Gath.
African KalangaNdizo Dafite kamilika kayenda, kuna Mambo Akhishi nkololo wa Maokhi we Gati, ana balume bali mazana ali matathatu (600).
- English3
David and his men settled in Gath with Achish. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal.
African KalangaDafite ne balanda babe bakagala na Akhishi ku Gati. Nlume mmwe ne mmwe wakabe ana nsha uwe na Dafite ana bakadzi babe babili: Ahinaomu we Jezerele na Abigaile we Karimeli tjilikadzi ya Nabhali.
- African Kalanga
Kwakati Saulo asinobe abudziwa kuti Dafite wakatizhila ku Gati, kaletjedza kunvima.
- English5
Then David said to Achish, “If I have found favor in your eyes, let a place be assigned to me in one of the country towns, that I may live there. Why should your servant live in the royal city with you?”
African KalangaNdizo Dafite kadwa Akhishi kati, “Ha ndiamutjilika mu mesho enyu, ndokumbila kuti mu ndiwanile pandingagala mu imwe ye mizi ye shango yenyu, kuti ndizwigaligwepo. Apa nlanda wenyu ungagalatjini namwi mu nzi we bushe?”
- English6
So on that day Achish gave him Ziklag, and it has belonged to the kings of Judah ever since.
African KalangaMu zhuba ilelo Akhishi kampa Zikilagi, ndizo Zikilagi ukabe nzi wa bomambo be Juda kuswikila nasi.
- African Kalanga
Dafite wakagala mu shango ye Bafilisitiya gole lina mimwedzi ili minna.
- English8
Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites and the Amalekites. (From ancient times these peoples had lived in the land extending to Shur and Egypt.)
African KalangaNdizo Dafite ne bathu babe bakayenda bakanonginilila Bageshu, Bagirazi ne Baamaleki. Kudwa ntolo zwitjaba izwezwi zwakabe zwigala mu shango ye Shuwu ne kunoti ku Egipiti.
- English9
Whenever David attacked an area, he did not leave a man or woman alive, but took sheep and cattle, donkeys and camels, and clothes. Then he returned to Achish.
African KalangaKwakabe kuti Dafite enginilila pathu, esiya kusina nlume kene nkadzi unotjila, ebe etapa pkhwizi ne ng'ombe ne madonki ne kamela nenge zwiambalo. Ebe ebgwilila ku Akhishi.
- English10
When Achish asked, “Where did you go raiding today?” David would say, “Against the Negev of Judah” or “Against the Negev of Jerahmeel” or “Against the Negev of the Kenites.”
African KalangaKwakabe kuti Akhishi embhuzwa eti, “Nasi manonginilila ngayi kene?” Dafite wakabe edabila eti, “Ku Negebu kwe Juda kene ku Negebu kwe Bajeramiyeli kene Negebu kwe Bakeni.”
- English11
He did not leave a man or woman alive to be brought to Gath, for he thought, “They might inform on us and say, ‘This is what David did.’” And such was his practice as long as he lived in Philistine territory.
African KalangaDafite akuna waakasiya kuli nlume kene nkadzi etjila kuti azhe naye ku Gati, ngobe wakabe ekumbula kuti bangadwa benotibudzilila beti, “Dafite wakathama etji na etji!” Ikoku ndiko sekwa akabe ethama mu misi yose yaakabe egala mu shango ye Bafilisitiya.
- English12
Achish trusted David and said to himself, “He has become so odious to his people, the Israelites, that he will be my servant forever.”
African KalangaAkhishi wakabe egalabgwe Dafite, ebuya ezwidwa eti, “Wakazwibenganya ne bakanyi kwabo, Baiziraela, sa ikoku, unowogalila tjose ali nlanda wangu nge kusingapele.”
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.