The English-Kalanga Bilingual Language Learning Bible
Old Testament
Read each verse in English beside its African Kalanga equivalent.
1 Samuel 3English
1 Samuwele 3African Kalanga
- English1
The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.
African KalangaMbisana Samuele wakabe eshingila Yahwe ali pasi kwa Eli. Mu misi iyeyo dama la Yahwe lakabe lisingawhiwe whiwe koga, ne mibono yakabe isakawanda.
- English2
One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place.
African KalangaMu tjibaka itjetjo Eli wakabe asingatjabonesese mesho awe abe ne lidandi, wakabe alilele mu ng'umba iye.
- English3
The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.
African KalangaLuvone gwe Ndzimu gwakabe gusathu gukadzima, ngono Samuele wakabe alilele mu Ng'umba ya Yahwe, kwakabe kuna Bhokisi le Tjidumano tje Ndzimu.
- African Kalanga
Ipapo Yahwe bakadana Samuele, Samuele kadabila eti, “Ndipano.”
- English5
And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.
African KalangaKalabukila kuna Eli kaswika eti, “Ndipano, mandidana.” Koga Eli kandwa kati, “Andizotongo dana, bgwililazo unoizela.” Ndizo kayenda kanoizela.
- English6
Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” “My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”
African KalangaYahwe bakadana kakale bakati, “Samuele!” Ngono Samuele kamuka kayenda kuna Eli kaswika kandwa kati, “Ndabuya mandidana.” Eli kandwa kati, “Andizotongodana nkololo wangu bgwililazo unoizela.”
- English7
Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.
African KalangaMu tjibaka itjetjo Samuele wakabe asathu kaziba Yahwe, ngobe dama la Yahwe wakabe asathu kalizumbunuligwa.
- English8
The Lord called Samuel a third time, and Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy.
African KalangaYahwe bakadana Samuele kakale gwe butatu. Samuele kamuka kayenda kuna Eli, kaswika kandwa kati, “Ndabuya mandidana.” Ndizo Eli kabona kuti Yahwe bakabe bedana mbisana.
- English9
So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
African KalangaIpapo Eli kandwa kati, “Bgwilila unoizela, ngono ha ungawha bekudana kakale udabile uti, ‘Lebelekani zwenyu Yahwe, nlanda wenyu wakateedza.’ ” Ndizo Samuele kabgwilila kanoizela ku bulalo gugwe.
- English10
The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
African KalangaYahwe bakazha bakama ipapo, bakadana kakale, sekwa batongodana, “Samuele! Samuele!” Samuele kadabila eti, “Lebelekani zwenyu nlanda wenyu wakateedza.”
- English11
And the Lord said to Samuel: “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle.
African KalangaIpapo Yahwe bakadwa Samuele bakati, “Bona, ndi pejo ngothama tjimwe tjithu mu Iziraela, tjinowothama kuti zebe dze mmwe ne mmwe unotjiwha unowolobgwa nge hana.
- English12
At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family–from beginning to end.
African KalangaMu zhuba ilelo ndowothamila Eli zose zwandakaleba ngekwe nsha uwe, kudwa mu kutangisa kunoti ku bupelo.
- English13
For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons made themselves contemptible, and he failed to restrain them.
African KalangaNgono ndombudza kuti ndi pejo ngoloba nsha uwe nge kusingapele, ngekwe jinyo laanoziba, bakololo babe bakabe betuka Ndzimu, ngono kasitongo batjemela.
- English14
Therefore, I swore to the house of Eli, ‘The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’”
African KalangaNdizo ndotuna nditunila nsha wa Eli nditi jinyo le nsha wa Eli alingalipigwe nge tjibhayilo kene kudusa tjipo nge kusingapele.”
- English15
Samuel lay down until morning and then opened the doors of the house of the Lord. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision,
African KalangaSamuele wakaizela kuswikila mangwanana, ndizo kazhula mikoba ye Ng'umba ya Yahwe. Samuele wakabe etja kubudza Eli mbono.
- African Kalanga
Koga Eli kadana Samuele kati, “Samuele nkololo wangu.” Samuele kadabila eti, “Ndipano.”
- English17
“What was it he said to you?” Eli asked. “Do not hide it from me. May God deal with you, be it ever so severely, if you hide from me anything he told you.”
African KalangaEli kambhuzwa kati, “Apa Yahwe balala bakudwani kene? Usindisumbikile itjo. Ndzimu ngaukulobe, ha ungandisumbikila tjimwe ne tjimwe tjawalala wakubudza.”
- English18
So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said, “He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes.”
African KalangaNdizo Samuele kambudza tjimwe ne tjimwe, kukasibe ne tjaanonsumbikila. Iye kabe eti, “Ndibo Yahwe, ngabathame sekwa kungabe kwakabalulwamila.”
- African Kalanga
Samuele kakula, Yahwe banaye, ngono abazotongo thama kuti kube ne matama abo angawila pasi.
- English20
And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord.
African KalangaNdizo Iziraela yose, kudwa ku Dani kunoti ku Bheerisheba ikaziba kuti Samuele nlebesambeli wa Yahwe.
- English21
The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.
African KalangaYahwe bakadwilila bezwilakidza ku Shilo, ngono Yahwe bakazwilakidza kuna Samuele nge dama labo.
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.