2. Now there was a man in Maon, whose business was in Carmel, and the man was so wealthy, he had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats. At that time he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.
3. The man’s name was Nabal and his wife’s name was 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 his sheep.
5. So David dispatched ten young men, and said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, and when you reach Nabal, greet him in my name.
6. Thus you will say: ‘Long life! And shalom to you, shalom to your house and shalom to all that is yours.
7. Now I hear that you have shearers. When your shepherds were with us, we did them no harm and nothing of theirs was missing all the time they were in Carmel.
8. Ask your young men and they will tell you. Therefore, let the young men find favor in your eyes, for we have come on a festive day. So please, give to your servants and to your son David, whatever you find at hand.’”
9. David’s young men went and told Nabal all those words in David’s name, and waited.
10. But Nabal answered David’s servants by saying, “Who is David? And who is Jesse’s son? Nowadays there are many slaves each running away from his master.
11. So should I take my bread, my water and my meat that I have cooked for my shearers, and give it to men whom I don’t know where they come from?”
12. So David’s young men turned around and went back. When they came and reported to him all these words,
13. David said to his men, “Everyone buckle on your sword!” So each man buckled on his sword and David also buckled on his sword. About 400 men went up following David, while 200 stayed with the baggage.
14. But one of the young men told Nabal’s wife Abigail saying, “Look, David had sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, but he spurned them.
15. Yet the men were very good to us. We were not harmed, nor were we missing anything as long as we went about with them while we were in the fields.
16. They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the time that we were with them tending the sheep.
17. Now therefore, know and consider what you will do, for evil is determined against our master and against all his household. But he is such a worthless fellow that no one can speak to him.”