The English-Kalanga Bilingual Language Learning Bible
Old Testament
Read each verse in English beside its African Kalanga equivalent.
Genesis 12English
Kutangisa 12African Kalanga
- English1
The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.
African KalangaYahwe bakadwa Abhuramu bakati, “Bhuda mu shango ya kanyi kwenyu ne mu makamu awo ne mu nsha wa tate babo uyende ku shango yandinowokulakidza.
- English2
“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
African Kalanga“Ndowokuthama itjaba tjikulu, ndowokukombolela ne zina lilo ndowolithama gulu, kuti ube gombolelo.
- English3
I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
African KalangaNdowokombolela ibabo banokukombolela. Iye unokulonga bhiso ndowonlongabo bhiso. Ngekuko njudzi dzose dze shango ndowodzikombolela.”
- English4
So Abram left, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran.
African KalangaNdizo Abhuramu kamilika kayenda se kwaakadwiwa ndi Yahwe, ngono Loti kayenda naye. Abhuramu wakabe ana makole ali makumi ali kutendeka ana makole ali mashanu (75) ha ebhuda mu Harani.
- English5
He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.
African KalangaAbhuramu katola nkadzi uwe Sarayi na Loti mwana we nnung'una uwe ne thundu yose yabakashaba ne balanda babakawana mu Harani, ngono bakamilika bakayenda ku shango ye Kanana. Bakati beswika mu Kanana,
- English6
Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.
African KalangaAbhuramu kayenda epalama shango kanoti ku Shekemu pa nti we pakayengemala wa More. Mu misi iyeyo Bakanana bakabe batjiyapo mu shango iyeyo.
- English7
The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
African KalangaIpapo Yahwe bakazwilakidza kuna Abhuramu ngono bakati kunli, “Zwizekugwana zwizo ndowozwipa shango iyeyi.” Ngono Abhuramu kabakila Yahwe ibo bazwilakidza kunli tjibeso tjinopisigwa zwibhayilo.
- English8
From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.
African KalangaKudwa ipapo kayendila ku matombo ku bhezhuba kwe Bhetele, kabe ebaka nshasha uwe pakati kwe Bhetele ne Ai, nzi we Bhetele uli ku golombedzo, we Ai uli ku bhezhuba. Kabakila Yahwe tjibeso tjinopisigwa zwibhayilo ipapo, ngono kanamata Yahwe.
- African Kalanga
Abhuramu kamilika kadwilidza gwendo gugwe akalinga ku Negebu.
- English10
Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.
African KalangaNgono kukabe ne bhamba mu shango iyeyo. Ndizo Abhuramu kayenda ku Egipiti kunogalako kwe tjibakana, ngoti bhamba lakabe lili gulu mu shango.
- English11
As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are.
African KalangaKukati babe pejo ne kuswika mu Egipiti, Abhuramu kadwa nkadzi uwe Sarayi kati, “Ndoziba kuti u nkadzi mbuya ngolingwa.
- English12
When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live.
African KalangaBaegipiti banowoti bekubona banowoti, ‘Oyu nkadzi uwe.’ Ipapo banowondibulaya koga iwe banowokuletja ukatjila.
- English13
Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.”
African KalangaUbadwe uti u hazwadzi yangu kuti ndizo ndibhakhwe zubuyanana nge kuko nditjile.”
- African Kalanga
Kukati Abhuramu eswika mu Egipiti, Baegipiti bakati bebona nkadzi bakati wakanaka kwazo.
- English15
And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace.
African KalangaHadzasha dza Faro dzikati dzimbona dzikanlumbidza kuna Faro, ngono kayisiwa ku ng'umba iye ye bushe.
- English16
He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels.
African KalangaNgono kabhata Abhuramu zubuyanana nge kukwe, Abhuramu kawana pkhwizi ne ng'ombe ne madonki malume ne makadzi ne balandalume ne balandakadzi ne dzikamela.
- English17
But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai.
African KalangaKoga Yahwe bakaloba Faro ne be ng'umba iye nge njigwele dzakabangalala ngekwa Sarayi nkadzi wa Abhuramu.
- English18
So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife?
African KalangaNdizo Faro kadana Abhuramu kambhuzwa kati, “Ini kwawandithama kene? Ini usakandibudza kuti nkadzi uwo kene?
- English19
Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!”
African KalangaIni wakati i hazwadzi iyo, imi ndibe ndintola kube nkadzi wangu kene? Ngono whoyu nkadzi uwo. Untole uyende.”
- English20
Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.
African KalangaIpapo Faro katuma bathu babe kuna Abhuramu ndizo bakampeleka ben'dusa mu shango iye ne nkadzi uwe ne tjimwe ne tjimwe tjaakabeanatjo.
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.