The English-Kalanga Bilingual Language Learning Bible
Old Testament
Read each verse in English beside its African Kalanga equivalent.
Genesis 26English
Kutangisa 26African Kalanga
- English1
Now there was a famine in the land–besides the earlier famine of Abraham’s time–and Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines in Gerar.
African KalangaKukabe ne bhamba mu shango, bhamba lipoga lisi ilelije lakatongobepo mu misi ya Abhurahama. Ngono Isaki kayenda ku Gera kuna Abimeleki mambo we Bafilisitiya.
- English2
The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live.
African KalangaYahwe bakaboneka kuna Isaki bakandwa bakati, “Usitongoyenda ku Egipiti, gala mu shango yandinokubudza.
- English3
Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham.
African KalangaGala mu shango iyeyi, imi ndowobe nawe akukombolela. Ndowokupa shango idzedzi dzose iwe ne bana babo. Zwandakatuna ndigadzabgwe tate babo Abhurahama ndowozwithama.
- English4
I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed,
African KalangaNdowothama kuti bana babo babe banji se nyenyedzi dze zhuzhugwi. Ndowobapa shango idzedzi dzose. Njudzi dzose dze shango dzowokombolegwa ngekwe bana babo,
- African Kalanga
ngekuti Abhurahama wakabe endiwha, ethama zwandakandwa, ewha ndayo dzangu, elondolodza ndaulo dzangu ne milayo yangu.”
- African Kalanga
Ndizo Isaki kagala mu Gera.
- English7
When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.”
African KalangaBalume be magalo iyawo bakati bembhuzwa ngekwe nkadzi uwe kabadwa kati, “I hazwadzi yangu,” ngoti wakatja kuti, “Nkadzi wangu.” Wakabe ekumbula eti, “Balume be magalo iyawa bangana bakandibulaya ngekwa Ribeka, ngoti wakanaka.”
- English8
When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah.
African KalangaKwakati Isaki agala tjibaka tjilefu ikoko, Abimeleki mambo we Bafilisitiya kati elinga kuzhe nge fesitere kabona Isaki ebhatabhata nkadzi uwe Ribeka ezana naye.
- English9
So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, “She is really your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac answered him, “Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her.”
African KalangaIpapo Abimeleki kadana Isaki kati kunli, “Nkadzi uwo iwoyu. Ini tjakayita kuti uti i hazwadzi iyo?” Isaki kadabila eti, “Ngoti ndakakumbula kuti ndowodwa ndibulawa ndibulaigwa iye.”
- English10
Then Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.”
African KalangaAbimeleki kabe eti, “Ini ikoku kwawatithamila? Mmwe ha angabe akabe akalala ne nkadzi uwo, ungabe wakabe watiwanisa nlandu.”
- English11
So Abimelech gave orders to all the people: “Anyone who molests this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”
African KalangaNdizo Abimeleki kadwa bathu babe kati, “Iye unowoti kathamila mbipo nlume iwoyu kene nkadzi uwe unowobulawa.”
- English12
Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the Lord blessed him.
African KalangaIsaki kalima mu shango iyeyo ngono mu gole ilelo kavuna zwidzwalo zwakawanda ngoti Yahwe bakankombolela.
- African Kalanga
Ngono kafuma, fumwa iye ikadwilila iwanda kuswikila ebe nfumi nkulu.
- African Kalanga
Wakabe akafuma pkhwizi ne mbudzi ne ng'ombe, ana balanda banjinji ngono Bafilisitiya bakanthamila fupa.
- English15
So all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth.
African KalangaNdizo Bafilisitiya bakabe bavukidza matshime wose akabe atshiwa ne balanda ba Abhurahama tate babe misi ya bakabe batjatjila.
- African Kalanga
Abimeleki kadwa Isaki kati, “Tjidwazo patili ngoti wabe ne masimba kutipinda.”
- African Kalanga
Ndizo Isaki kafuluka kanobiga mishasha iye mu nkuku we Gera ngono kagalako.
- English18
Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them.
African KalangaIsaki kavukula matshime akabe atshiwa ndi tate babe Abhurahama akabe avukidziwa ne Bafilisitiya shule kwe kufa kwa Abhurahama. Ngono kaadana nge mazina aakabe adang'wa ndiwo ndi tate babe.
- African Kalanga
Balanda ba Isaki bakatsha tshime mu nkuku ngono bakapubula vula.
- English20
But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they disputed with him.
African KalangaKoga balisi be mu Gera bakalongelana nabo zhoba beti, “Vula iyeyi nge yedu.” Ndizo Isaki katumila tshime ilelo eti, “Eseki” ngoti bakalongelana naye zhoba.
- African Kalanga
Balanda ba Isaki bakatsha limwe tshime ngono bakalilongelana zhoba nge kwalo kakale. Ndizo kalidana eti, “Lubengo.”
- English22
He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth, saying, “Now the Lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land.”
African KalangaIsaki kadwa ipapo kanotsha limwe tshime ngono bakasililongelane zhoba. Kalitumila kati, “Rehoboti” eti, “Ngwenu Yahwe batipa magalo akazhuka kuti tiwande mu ali.”
- African Kalanga
Kudwa ipapo Isaki kayenda ku Bheerisheba.
- English24
That night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.”
African KalangaMu busiku igogo Yahwe bakazwilakidza kunli ngono bakandwa bakati, “Ndimi Ndzimu wa tate babo Abhurahama. Usitje, ngoti ndi nawe, ndowokukombolela awatsha ludzi gugo ngekwe nlanda wangu Abhurahama.”
- English25
Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well.
African KalangaIsaki kathama tjibeso tjinopisigwa zwibhayilo ngono kanamata Yahwe. Kabaka mishasha iye ipapo ngono balanda babe bakatsha tshime.
- English26
Meanwhile, Abimelech had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his personal adviser and Phicol the commander of his forces.
African KalangaIpapo Abimeleki kayenda kuna Isaki edwa ku Gera ana Ahuzati nkumbuludzi uwe na Fikoli nlauli we babhayani ba Abimeleki.
- English27
Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me, since you were hostile to me and sent me away?”
African KalangaIsaki kababhuzwa kati, “Mabingani ngeno? Atenti mondishima makanditata pamuli?”
- English28
They answered, “We saw clearly that the Lord was with you; so we said, ‘There ought to be a sworn agreement between us’-between us and you. Let us make a treaty with you
African KalangaBakadabila beti, “Tobona zubuyanana kuti Yahwe banawe, ndizo tabe titi ngakube ne tjidumano tje mbakisano pakati kwedu nawe,
- English29
that you will do us no harm, just as we did not molest you but always treated you well and sent you away in peace. And now you are blessed by the Lord.”
African Kalangatjekuti usitongo tithamila tjimwe tjakabipa se naswi tisakakuthamila tjimwe tjakabipa, takakuyendisa nge mbakiso. Nasi wakombolegwa ndi Yahwe.”
- African Kalanga
Isaki kabathamila nzano we zojiwa ngono bakaja bakang'wa.
- English31
Early the next morning the men swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they left him in peace.
African KalangaTjimuka mangwanana bakatunilana. Isaki kabapeleka, ngono bakansiya nge mbakiso.
- English32
That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. They said, “We’ve found water!”
African KalangaMu zhuba ilelo balanda ba Isaki bakazha bakambudza ngekwe tshime labakatsha. Bakati, “Tapubula vula.”
- African Kalanga
Kalitumila eti Shiba kuswikila mu zhuba lino zina le nzi iwoyo lodang'wa Bheerisheba.
- English34
When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite.
African KalangaEsau wakati ana makole ali makumi manna (40) kabe ekotosa Juditi nkololokadzi wa Bheeri na Bhasemati nkololokadzi wa Eloni be Tjihiti.
- African Kalanga
Ngono bakabipisa butjilo gwa Isaki na Ribeka.
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.