The English-Kalanga Bilingual Language Learning Bible
Old Testament
Read each verse in English beside its African Kalanga equivalent.
Deuteronomy 18English
Matama 18African Kalanga
- English1
The priests, who are Levites–indeed the whole tribe of Levi–are to have no allotment or inheritance with Israel. They shall live on the offerings made to the Lord by fire, for that is their inheritance.
African Kalanga“Bapirisiti be Balevi, whuti ludzi gose gwa Levi, abatowobe ne gobe kene thaka ne Iziraela, banowoja tjibhayilo tjapisigwa Yahwe, ndizo zwaanokobegwa.
- English2
They shall have no inheritance among their brothers; the Lord is their inheritance, as he promised them.
African KalangaAbatowobe ne thaka pakati kwe bana batate babo, Yahwe ndibo thaka yabo sekwa bakabagadzabgwe.
- English3
This is the share due the priests from the people who sacrifice a bull or a sheep: the shoulder, the jowls and the inner parts.
African KalangaGobe le bapirisiti ndiyeli kudwa mu bathu, kudwa muna ibabo banodusa tjibhayilo, kungadwa ili ng'ombe kene pkhwizi, bape mpirisiti bhandabuko ne shaya mbili ne gulu.
- English4
You are to give them the firstfruits of your grain, new wine and oil, and the first wool from the shearing of your sheep,
African KalangaZwitshwa zwe mathunde enyu ne zwe nkumbi wenyu ne zwe mafuta ne wulu yenyu ye kutanga kudwa mu pkhwizi dzenyu mumpe izo.
- English5
for the Lord your God has chosen them and their descendants out of all your tribes to stand and minister in the Lord’s name always.
African KalangaNgoti Yahwe Ndzimu wenyu bakanshalula mu njudzi dzenyu dzose, kuma ne kushinga mu zina la Yahwe, iye ne bakololo babe nge kusingapele.
- English6
If a Levite moves from one of your towns anywhere in Israel where he is living, and comes in all earnestness to the place the Lord will choose,
African Kalanga“Ngono ha Nlevi ezha edwa mu mmwe we mizi yenyu kudwa mu Iziraela kwaanogala, ungazhazwe ku bugalo gwakashalugwa ndi Yahwe ha eyemula,
- English7
he may minister in the name of the Lord his God like all his fellow Levites who serve there in the presence of the Lord.
African Kalangaipapo ungashinga mu zina la Yahwe Ndzimu uwe koga se bamwe bose Balevi naye banoma nge makumbo kushinga mbeli kwa Yahwe.
- English8
He is to share equally in their benefits, even though he has received money from the sale of family possessions.
African KalangaBanowobe ne gobe linolizana le kuja nenguba aamutjila mari mukudwa mutengesa thundu ye nsha uwe.
- English9
When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there.
African Kalanga“Muti mungina mu shango iyeyi yamunopiwa ndi Yahwe Ndzimu wenyu, musitongo zwidiya kutobela zwinoshimika zwinothamiwa nge njudzi idzedzije.
- English10
Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft,
African KalangaKusitongo wang'wa pakati kwenyu unopisa nkololo uwe kene nkololokadzi uwe ili tjibhayilo, unokandila kene mashabi zwinozha kene unotjenesa mashula kene nloyi
- African Kalanga
kene malipa kene unowonga bathu nge miti kene nloyilume kene unolebeleka ne bafi.
- English12
Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord, and because of these detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you.
African KalangaNgoti kene ali anizwe unothama zwithu izwezwi unoshimika kuna Yahwe, ngono ngekwe zwithu izwezwi zwinoshimika Yahwe Ndzimu wenyu banobadusa mbeli kwenyu.
- African Kalanga
Mube basina nlandu mbeli kwa Yahwe Ndzimu wenyu.
- English14
The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do so.
African KalangaNgoti njudzi idzedzi dzamabe pejo ngotolela shango banoyela njele balebi be zwimbeli zwinozha ne bakandili, koga imwi Yahwe Ndzimu wenyu abatomudumila kuthama sayikoko.
- English15
The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him.
African Kalanga“Yahwe Ndzimu wenyu banowomumusila nlebesambeli unonga imi kudwa pakati kwenyu, kudwa mu bana ba tate benyu, iye munteedze.
- English16
For this is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.”
African KalangaIkoku ndiko kwamakakumbila Yahwe Ndzimu wenyu ku Horebu mu zhuba le gubungano pamakati, ‘Ima tisiwhe whi la Yahwe Ndzimu wedu kene kuli kubona moto iwoyu nkulukulu kakale imi ndidwa ndifa.’
- African Kalanga
Ngono Yahwe bandidwa bakati, ‘Baleba zubuyanana kose kwabaleba.
- English18
I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.
African KalangaNdowobamusila nlebesambeli unonga iwe kudwa mu bana ba tate babo, ngono ndowolonga matama angu mu nlomo uwe ngono unowoleba kose kwandan'dwa.
- English19
If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account.
African KalangaNgono kene ali ani usingayele njele matama angu aanowoleba mu zina langu, imi nge kwangu ndowolingisana naye.
- English20
But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death.”
African KalangaKoga nlebesambeli unowoleba koga dama mu zina langu landisan'dwa kuleba, kene unoleba dama mu zina le midzimu mimwe, nlebesambeli iwoyo unowofa.’
- English21
You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?”
African KalangaNgono ha mungazwidwa mu moyo mukati, ‘Tingaziba tjini dama lisalegwa ndi Yahwe?’
- English22
If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.
African KalangaHa nlebesambeli eleba dama mu zina la Yahwe, ilelo dama libe lisingashingikale kene lisingabe malebeswa, ilelo i dama Yahwe labasaleba, nlebesambeli wazwilebegwa koga, musitongo ntja.
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.