The English-Kalanga Bilingual Language Learning Bible
Old Testament
Read each verse in English beside its African Kalanga equivalent.
2 Kings 25English
2 Bomambo 25African Kalanga
- English1
So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. He encamped outside the city and built siege works all around it.
African KalangaKwakati mu gole le buzhanalume le mbuso wa Zedekiya, mu zhuba le bugumi le mwedzi we bugumi, Nebukadineza mambo we Bhabhiloni kazha ne ngwa iye yose ku Jerusalema ngono kayikomba nge ngwa, bakabaka matuthu e ngwa kuyipoteleka.
- African Kalanga
Ndizo nzi wakakombiwa nge ngwa kuswikila makole ali gumi lina gole (11) e mbuso wa Zedekiya.
- English3
By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city had become so severe that there was no food for the people to eat.
African KalangaNgono mu zhuba le buzhanalume le mwedzi we bunna, kwakabe ne zhala whulu kwazo mu nzi nkulu, kwakabe kusina zojiwa kuti bathu baje.
- English4
Then the city wall was broken through, and the whole army fled at night through the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden, though the Babylonians were surrounding the city. They fled toward the Arabah,
African KalangaKukapubugwa guma le nzi nkulu, mambo ne balume bose be ngwa bakabhuda busiku nge zila ye nkoba upakati kwe makuma mabili pa nnda wa mambo nenguba Bakhaladiya bakabe bakakomba nzi nkulu. Ngono bakayenda ne zila ye Araba.
- English5
but the Babylonian army pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered,
African KalangaKoga ngwa ye Babhabhiloni ikatatamila mambo ngono bakanombhatila mu zwibata zwe Jerikho, babhayani babe bose bakathubukana naye bakapalala.
- English6
and he was captured. He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where sentence was pronounced on him.
African KalangaBabhabhiloni bakatapa mambo, bakan'yisa kuna mambo we Bhabhiloni ku Ribila kwaakasumikilisiwa.
- English7
They killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. Then they put out his eyes, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon.
African KalangaBakabulayila bakololo ba Zedekiya mu mesho awe, bakakopola mesho a Zedekiya, bakansunga nge dziketani bakan'yisa ku Bhabhiloni.
- English8
On the seventh day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard, an official of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem.
African KalangaMu mwedzi we bushanu mu zhuba le butendeka le mwedzi, kuli gole le bugumi lina zhanalume le mbuso wa Nebukadineza mambo we Bhabhiloni, Nebuzaradani nlauli we balindi, ntungamili wa mambo we Bhabhiloni kazha ku Jerusalema.
- English9
He set fire to the temple of the Lord, the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down.
African KalangaKapisa ng'umba ya Yahwe ne ng'umba ye bumambo ne ng'umba dzose dze Jerusalema. Kapisa ng'umba dzose whulu.
- English10
The whole Babylonian army, under the commander of the imperial guard, broke down the walls around Jerusalem.
African KalangaNgwa yose ye Bakhaladiya bana nlauli we balindi bakaliga makuma kupoteleka Jerusalema.
- English11
Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard carried into exile the people who remained in the city, along with the rest of the populace and those who had gone over to the king of Babylon.
African KalangaMalimbelimbe e bathu akabe asala mu nzi nkulu ne bakabe bazwipa kuna mambo we Bhabhiloni kose ne malimbelimbe wose, Nebuzaradani kabalonga mu busungwa.
- English12
But the commander left behind some of the poorest people of the land to work the vineyards and fields.
African KalangaKoga nlauli we balindi kasiya bashayi be shango kuti balime minda dze mizhambi ne minda dzimwe.
- English13
The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars, the movable stands and the bronze Sea that were at the temple of the Lord and they carried the bronze to Babylon.
African KalangaBakhaladiya bakadusa phanda dze phangula dzakabe dzili mu ng'umba ya Yahwe ne zwigadziko ne tanka ye phangula zwakabe zwili mu ng'umba ya Yahwe ngono bakasengela phangula ku Bhabhiloni.
- English14
They also took away the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, dishes and all the bronze articles used in the temple service.
African KalangaBakatola hali ne maharawo ne zwidzimi zwe mavone ne ndigwana dzinopisila motsha ne zwija zose zwe phangula zwinoshingisiwa mu Ng'umba ye Ndzimu,
- English15
The commander of the imperial guard took away the censers and sprinkling bowls–all that were made of pure gold or silver.
African Kalangane makambana e moto ne zwikutili. Ntungamili we balindi katola kose kwakathamiwa nge golide kene siliva.
- English16
The bronze from the two pillars, the Sea and the movable stands, which Solomon had made for the temple of the Lord, was more than could be weighed.
African KalangaPhangula ye phanda mbili neye tanka neye zwigadziko zwakabe zwathamiwa na Solomoni ezwithamila ng'umba ya Yahwe yakabe ipinda tjilizanyo.
- English17
Each pillar was twenty-seven feet high. The bronze capital on top of one pillar was four and a half feet high and was decorated with a network and pomegranates of bronze all around. The other pillar, with its network, was similar.
African KalangaBulefu gwe phanda imwe ne imwe gwakabe guli thambo dzili gumi lina zhanakadzi, pezhugwi kwadzo kuli nsholo we phangula, bulefu gwe nsholo kuli thambo thatu, yakanakisiwa ne pomegiranate ye phangula kuyipoteleka, ne imwe phanda ifanana nayo.
- English18
The commander of the guard took as prisoners Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest next in rank and the three doorkeepers.
African KalangaNlauli we balindi katola Seraya mpirisiti nkulu na Zefaniya mpirisiti we bubili nge mamo ne balindi batatu be nkoba,
- English19
Of those still in the city, he took the officer in charge of the fighting men and five royal advisers. He also took the secretary who was chief officer in charge of conscripting the people of the land and sixty of his men who were found in the city.
African Kalangangono kudwa mu nzi nkulu katola ntungamili wakabe ali nlauli we ngwa ne bakumbuludzi ba mambo bali bashanu ne nkwalili we nlauli we babhayani wakabe eziba bathu be shango ne balume bali makumi ali tathatu (60) bakabe bali mu nzi nkulu.
- African Kalanga
Nebuzaradani nlauli we balindi kabatola kabayisa kuna mambo we Bhabhiloni ku Ribila.
- English21
There at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the king had them executed. So Judah went into captivity, away from her land.
African KalangaMambo we Bhabhiloni kababulayila ku Ribila mu shango ye Hamati. Ndizo Bajuda bakalongwa mu busungwa, kuzhe kwe shango yabo.
- English22
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to be over the people he had left behind in Judah.
African KalangaNgono mu bathu bose bakabe basala mu shango ye Juda, bakabe basiyiwa ndi Nebukadineza mambo we Bhabhiloni, wakabiga Gedaliya nkololo wa Ahikamu ali nkololo wa Shafani kube mbusi wabo.
- English23
When all the army officers and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah as governor, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah–Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite, and their men.
African KalangaKwakati balauli bose be babhayani be wha kuti mambo we Bhabhiloni wabiga Gedaliya kube mbusi, bakazha kuna Gedaliya ku Mizipha, kuli bo Ishimayili nkololo wa Nethaniya na Johanani nkololo wa Kariya na Seraya nkololo wa Tanihumeti we Netufa, na Jaazaniya nkololo we Maakha.
- English24
Gedaliah took an oath to reassure them and their men. “Do not be afraid of the Babylonian officials,” he said. “Settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you.”
African KalangaGedaliya katuna kubali ne balume babo kati, “Musitje batungamili be Khaladiya, galani mu shango mu shingile mambo we Bhabhiloni, tjimwe ne tjimwe tjowomululwamila.”
- English25
In the seventh month, however, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was of royal blood, came with ten men and assassinated Gedaliah and also the men of Judah and the Babylonians who were with him at Mizpah.
African KalangaKoga mu mwedzi we butendeka Ishimayili nkololo wa Netaniya ali nkololo wa Elishama we nsha we bushe kazha ne balume bali gumi bakanginilila bakabulaya Gedaliya ne Bajuta ne Bakhaladiya bakabe banaye ku Mizipha.
- English26
At this, all the people from the least to the greatest, together with the army officers, fled to Egypt for fear of the Babylonians.
African KalangaNgono bathu bose batjetjana ne bakulukulu ne balauli be babhayani bakamilika bakayenda ku Egipiti ngoti bakabe betja Bakhaladiya.
- English27
In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the year Evil-Merodach became king of Babylon, he released Jehoiachin from prison on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month.
African KalangaKwakati mu gole le makumi matatu ana ali tendeka (37) le busungwa gwa Jehoyakini mambo we Juda, mu mwedzi we bugumi lina mibili mu zhuba le bumakumi mabili ana ali tendeka (27) le mwedzi, mu gole la Evilimerodaki akabe mambo we Bhabhiloni, kadusa Jehoyakini mambo we Juda mu busungwa.
- English28
He spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat of honor higher than those of the other kings who were with him in Babylon.
African KalangaKalebeleka naye nge buthu ngono kampa tjigalo tje gudzo kupinda bomambo bamwe baakabe anabo mu Bhabhiloni.
- English29
So Jehoiachin put aside his prison clothes and for the rest of his life ate regularly at the king’s table.
African KalangaNdizo Jehoyakini kaambula zwiambalo zwizwe zwe busungwa, ngono mazhuba wose e butjilo gugwe kaja pa tafuli ya mambo.
- African Kalanga
Zhuba ne zhuba mambo wakabe epa Jehoyakini tjaangatjila natjo, mu mazhuba wose e butjilo gugwe.
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.