The English-Kalanga Bilingual Language Learning Bible
Old Testament
Read each verse in English beside its African Kalanga equivalent.
Judges 15English
Basumikilisi 15African Kalanga
- English1
Later on, at the time of wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat and went to visit his wife. He said, “I’m going to my wife’s room.” But her father would not let him go in.
African KalangaKwakati shule mu tjibaka tje kuvun'gwa kwe koroni, Samisoni kanokumba nkadzi uwe ngono kansengela tjibudzana. Ngono kati, “Ndongina mu ng'umbana ye nkadzi wangu.” Koga tate babe bakanlambila ku ngina mukati.
- English2
“I was so sure you thoroughly hated her,” he said, “that I gave her to your friend. Isn’t her younger sister more attractive? Take her instead.”
African KalangaTate babe bakati, “Ndakakumbula kuti unonshima dumbu, ndizo ndikampa nzwalani uwo. Nnunguna uwe unompinda nge naka, ndokumbila utole iye mu bumo gugwe.”
- English3
Samson said to them, “This time I have a right to get even with the Philistines; I will really harm them.”
African KalangaSamisoni kabadwa kati, “Ngwenu ndowobendisi nlandu ngekwe Bafilisitiya apa ndibakubadza.”
- English4
So he went out and caught three hundred foxes and tied them tail to tail in pairs. He then fastened a torch to every pair of tails,
African KalangaNdizo Samisoni kanobhata bophungubgwe zwili mazana matatu (300) kazwisungilikanya nge mimwise bubili ne bubili, katola zwinovoneka kazwisungila mu bubili gose.
- English5
lit the torches and let the foxes loose in the standing grain of the Philistines. He burned up the shocks and standing grain, together with the vineyards and olive groves.
African KalangaNgono kati abhatidza moto muna zwinovoneka kaletja bophungubgwe zwiyenda ku minda dze Bafilisitiya zwikapisa mathunde kose ne minda dze mizhambi nedze mitoba.
- English6
When the Philistines asked, “Who did this?” they were told, “Samson, the Timnite’s son-in-law, because his wife was given to his friend.” So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father to death.
African KalangaKwakati Bafilisitiya bebhuzwa beti, “Ndiyani wathama ikoko?” Bakabudziwa kuyi, “Ndi Samisoni, nkwasha we nlume we Timina, ngoti batola nkadzi uwe bempa nzwalani uwe.” Ngono Bafilisitiya bakazha bepisa nkadzi na tate babe nge moto.
- English7
Samson said to them, “Since you’ve acted like this, I won’t stop until I get my revenge on you.”
African KalangaSamisoni kabadwa kati, “Apa kuli itjo tjamunothama, ndotuna kuti andingamuletje kuswikila nda mubgwilizila.”
- English8
He attacked them viciously and slaughtered many of them. Then he went down and stayed in a cave in the rock of Etam.
African KalangaKabanginilila kwakabangalala kabulaya banji. Ipapo kayenda kanogala mu guwu mu shongwe ye Etami.
- African Kalanga
Bafilisitiya bakayenda bakakotokela ku Juda, betalabukila ku Lehi.
- English10
The men of Judah asked, “Why have you come to fight us?” “We have come to take Samson prisoner,” they answered, “to do to him as he did to us.”
African KalangaNgono balume be Juda bakabhuzwa beti, “Ini wazha kuwotigwisa kene?” Bakashandula beti, “Tazhila kuwosunga Samisoni, kunthama tjaakatithama.”
- English11
Then three thousand men from Judah went down to the cave in the rock of Etam and said to Samson, “Don’t you realize that the Philistines are rulers over us? What have you done to us?” He answered, “I merely did to them what they did to me.”
African KalangaBalume bali zwiwulu zwili zwitatu (3 000) bakayenda ku shongwe ye Etami bakadwa Samisoni bakati, “Autoziba kuti Bafilisitiya banotibusa kene? Watithamilani kene?” Kadabila eti, “Ndabathamila tjabakandithama.”
- English12
They said to him, “We’ve come to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines.” Samson said, “Swear to me that you won’t kill me yourselves.”
African KalangaBakandwa bakati, “Tazha towokusunga kuti tinokulonga mu maboko e Bafilisitiya.” Samisoni kabadwa kati, “Tunani kundili kuti amungandibulaye nebukwenyu.”
- English13
“Agreed,” they answered. “We will only tie you up and hand you over to them. We will not kill you.” So they bound him with two new ropes and led him up from the rock.
African KalangaBakan'dabila beti, “Aa, towokusunga koga tikokulonga mu maboko abo, atingakubulaye.” Ndizo bakansunga nge misungo mibili mitshwa bakandusa mu shongwe.
- English14
As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands.
African KalangaWakati eswika ku Lehi, Bafilisitiya bakanshanganidza be mimila, Meya ya Yahwe ikazha munli nge simba, ngono misungo yakabe ili mu maboko awe ikanga thali dzapisiwa nge moto, misungo ikaletja mu maboko awe.
- African Kalanga
Kawana shaya dze donki dzitjazwiwha, kadzitola kabulaya balume bali tjiwulu (1 000) nadzo.
- English16
Then Samson said, “With a donkey’s jawbone I have made donkeys of them. With a donkey’s jawbone I have killed a thousand men.”
African KalangaSamisoni kati, “Ne shaya dze donki ndakabathama matuluthulu, Ne shaya dze donki Ndakabulaya balume bali zwiwulu.”
- English17
When he finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone; and the place was called Ramath Lehi.
African KalangaWakati apedza lebeleka, kalasha shaya dze donki, ngono pathu ipapo kuka dang'wa Ramatilehi.
- English18
Because he was very thirsty, he cried out to the LORD, “You have given your servant this great victory. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?”
African KalangaNgobe wakabe ana nyota kwazo, kalilila kuna Yahwe kati, “Mapa nlanda wenyu kukunda kukulu. Ngwenu ndingafa ne nyota kene, ndiwila mu maboko e bathu basakathumbigwa?”
- English19
Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned and he revived. So the spring was called En Hakkore, and it is still there in Lehi.
African KalangaNgono Ndzimu bakapubula gomba lakabe lili ku Lehi kukabhuda vula. Kati e ng'wa kabuyigwa nge simba lile katjila. Ndizo nsenya ukadang'wa kuyi Enehakori, na nasi uyapo ku Lehi.
- African Kalanga
Samisoni katungamila Baiziraela kwe makole ali makumi mabili (20) mu mazhuba e Bafilisitiya.
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.