The English-Kalanga Bilingual Language Learning Bible
Old Testament
Read each verse in English beside its African Kalanga equivalent.
Judges 21English
Basumikilisi 21African Kalanga
- English1
The men of Israel had taken an oath at Mizpah: “Not one of us will give his daughter in marriage to a Benjamite.”
African KalangaBalume be Iziraela bakabe batuna ku Mizipha beti, “Akuna wedu unowolobodza nkololokadzi uwe ku Babhenjamini.”
- English2
The people went to Bethel, where they sat before God until evening, raising their voices and weeping bitterly.
African KalangaBathu bakayenda ku Bhetele bakagala mbeli kwe Ndzimu kunoti madekwana, bemilidza mawhi, belila kwazo
- English3
“O LORD, the God of Israel,” they cried, “why has this happened to Israel? Why should one tribe be missing from Israel today?”
African Kalangabeti, “Imwi Yahwe Ndzimu we Iziraela, ngekutini ikoku kwashingikala mu Iziraela? Ini ludzi gumwe gusipo mu Iziraela nasi.”
- English4
Early the next day the people built an altar and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings.
African KalangaKwakati tjimuka bathu bakabaka tjibeso tjinopisigwa zwibhayilo bakadusa zwibhayilo zwinopisiwa ne zwipo zwe mbakisano.
- English5
Then the Israelites asked, “Who from all the tribes of Israel has failed to assemble before the LORD?” For they had taken a solemn oath that anyone who failed to assemble before the LORD at Mizpah should certainly be put to death.
African KalangaBaiziraela bakabhuzwa beti, “Ndiupi mu njudzi dzose dze Iziraela wakakong'wa kuwokubungana mbeli kwa Yahwe?” Ngoti bakabe batuna kuti iye unokong'wa kuwokubungana mbeli kwa Yahwe ku Mizipha, nge malebeswa unowobulawa.
- English6
Now the Israelites grieved for their brothers, the Benjamites. “Today one tribe is cut off from Israel,” they said.
African KalangaNgono bathu be Iziraela bakabe ne ngoni ne zwikamu zwabo Babhenjamini beti, “Nasi ludzi gung'ompela gwathubugwa mu Iziraela,
- English7
“How can we provide wives for those who are left, since we have taken an oath by the LORD not to give them any of our daughters in marriage?”
African Kalangatithame tjini ngekwe bakadzi muna ibaba bakasala, ngoti takatuna kuti atitowobapa bakololokadzi kuti babalobole kene?”
- English8
Then they asked, “Which one of the tribes of Israel failed to assemble before the LORD at Mizpah?” They discovered that no one from Jabesh Gilead had come to the camp for the assembly.
African KalangaBakabhuzwa beti, “Ndigupi gwe njudzi dze Iziraela gwakakong'wa kuwokubungana mbeli kwa Yahwe ku Mizipha?” Bakawana kuli kuti akuna we Jabeshi Giliyadi wakabuya ku nshangano we bukotokelo.
- English9
For when they counted the people, they found that none of the people of Jabesh Gilead were there.
African KalangaNgoti kwakati bathu be bagwa, kukawanika kulikuti akuna we bathu be Jabeshi Giliyadi uyapo.
- English10
So the assembly sent twelve thousand fighting men with instructions to go to Jabesh Gilead and put to the sword those living there, including the women and children.
African KalangaNdizo gubungano likatumila balume bali zwiwulu zwili gumi lina zwibili (12 000) be babhayani, likabadwa likati, “Yendani munobulaya bagali be Jabeshi Giliyadi nge thumo kose ne bakadzi ne bana.
- English11
“This is what you are to do,” they said. “Kill every male and every woman who is not a virgin.”
African KalangaTjamakafanila thama ndiyetji, nlume mmwe ne mmwe ne nkadzi mmwe ne mmwe wakatongo walilana abulawe.”
- English12
They found among the people living in Jabesh Gilead four hundred young women who had never slept with a man, and they took them to the camp at Shiloh in Canaan.
African KalangaMu bagali be Jabeshi Giliyadi bakawana baanadi bali mazana manna (400) basathu bakawalilana, bakabayisa ku bukotokelo ku Shilo mu shango ye Kanana.
- African Kalanga
Ngono gubungano lose likatumila dama ku Babhenjamini bakabe bali ku shongwe ya Rimoni, lileba mbakiso kubali.
- English14
So the Benjamites returned at that time and were given the women of Jabesh Gilead who had been spared. But there were not enough for all of them.
African KalangaBabhenjamini bakashanduka mu tjibaka itjetjo, bakapiwa bakadzi be Jabeshi Giliyadi bakabe baletjiwa ku tjila, koga bakasibalizane.
- African Kalanga
Bathu bakawhila ngoni Bhenjamini ngobe Yahwe bakabe badusa buli mu njudzi dze Iziraela.
- English16
And the elders of the assembly said, “With the women of Benjamin destroyed, how shall we provide wives for the men who are left?
African KalangaBakulu be gubungano bakabhuzwa kakale beti, “Basala tibathamile tjini kuti bawane bakadzi, ngoti bakadzi be Bhenjamini bakalobesiwa?”
- English17
The Benjamite survivors must have heirs,” they said, “so that a tribe of Israel will not be wiped out.
African KalangaBakadwilila beti, “Kwakafanila kube ne thaka ye malimbelimbe e Bhenjamini, kuti ndizo ludzi gusidzimidziwe mu Iziraela.
- English18
We can’t give them our daughters as wives, since we Israelites have taken this oath: ‘Cursed be anyone who gives a wife to a Benjamite.’
African KalangaTokonegwa nekubalobodza bakololokadzi bedu, ngoti tili Baiziraela takatuna titi, ‘Wakalongwa bhiso iye unowolobodza nkololokadzi uwe ku N'bhenjamini.’ ”
- English19
But look, there is the annual festival of the LORD in Shiloh, to the north of Bethel, and east of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem, and to the south of Lebonah.”
African KalangaNdizo bakati, “Bonani, kuna Nzano wa Yahwe we gole ne gole ku Shilo ku burwa gwe Bhetele, kunobhuda zhuba kwe zila yakazhuka inodwa ku Bhetele iyenda ku Shekemu, ku bunandzwa gwe Lebona.”
- African Kalanga
Bakalaya Babhenjamini beti, “Yendani munolalila ku minda dze mizhambi,
- English21
and watch. When the girls of Shiloh come out to join in the dancing, then rush from the vineyards and each of you seize a wife from the girls of Shiloh and go to the land of Benjamin.
African Kalangamulinge, apa bakololokadzi be Shilo bebhudila kuzhe kunozana mizano, mubhude mu minda dze mizhambi ngono mmwe ne mmwe azwitolele nkadzi mu bakololokadzi be Shilo bayende ku shango ya Bhenjamini.
- English22
When their fathers or brothers complain to us, we will say to them, ‘Do us a kindness by helping them, because we did not get wives for them during the war, and you are innocent, since you did not give your daughters to them.’”
African KalangaHa botate babo ne hazwadzi dzabo bangang'ong'ola kutili towobadwa titi, ‘Mutithamile buthu nge kubabhatsha, ngoti atizobawanila bakadzi mu ngwa, ngono amutemuli nlandu ngoti ate imwi makabapa bakololokadzi benyu.’ ”
- English23
So that is what the Benjamites did. While the girls were dancing, each man caught one and carried her off to be his wife. Then they returned to their inheritance and rebuilt the towns and settled in them.
African KalangaNdizo ndiko sekwa kathama Babhenjamini. Kwakati banana batjazana, nlume mmwe ne mmwe katola ng'ompela kube nkadzi uwe. Bakabgwilila ku shango yabo, bakabaka mizi bakagala muili.
- English24
At that time the Israelites left that place and went home to their tribes and clans, each to his own inheritance.
African KalangaMu tjibaka itjetjo Baiziraela bakayenda, bebgwilila kanyi kwabo ku njudzi dzabo ne misha yabo, mmwe ne mmwe ku thaka iye.
- African Kalanga
Mu mazhuba iyawo kwakabe kusina mambo mu Iziraela, mmwe ne mmwe wakabe ethama tjaanobona tjakalulwama mu mesho awe.
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.