1. Samuel died, and all Israel assembled to mourn for him, and they buried him by his home in Ramah. David then went down to the Wilderness of Paran.
2. A man in Maon had a business in Carmel; he was a very rich man with 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats and was shearing his sheep in Carmel.
3. The man’s name was Nabal, and his wife’s name, Abigail. The woman was intelligent and beautiful, but the man, a Calebite, was harsh and evil in his dealings.
4. While David was in the wilderness, he heard that Nabal was shearing sheep,
5. so David sent 10 young men instructing them, “Go up to Carmel, and when you come to Nabal, greet him in my name.
6. Then say this: ‘Long life to you, and peace to you, to your family, and to all that is yours.