2. And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.
3. Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb.
4. And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep.
5. And David sent ten young men, and David said to the young men, Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name:
6. And thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be both to thee, and peace be to thy house, and peace be to all that thou hast.
7. And now I have heard that thou hast shearers: now thy shepherds who were with us, we hurt them not, neither was there aught missing to them, all the while they were in Carmel.
8. Ask thy young men, and they will show thee. Wherefore let the young men find favor in thy eyes: for we come in a good day: give, I pray thee, whatever cometh to thy hand, to thy servants, and to thy son David.
9. And when David's young men came, they spoke to Nabal in the name of David, according to all these words, and ceased.
10. And Nabal answered David's servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there are many servants in these days that break away every man from his master.
11. Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men, whom I know not whence they are?
12. So David's young men turned their way, and went again, and came and told him all these sayings.
13. And David said to his men, Gird ye on every man his sword. And they girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on his sword: and there went up after David about four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the goods.
14. But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers from the wilderness to salute our master; and he railed at them.
15. But the men were very good to us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we any thing, as long as we were conversant with them, when we were in the fields:
16. They were a wall to us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.
17. Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do: for evil is determined against our master, and against all his household: for he is such a son of Belial, that a man cannot speak to him.
18. Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses.
19. And she said to her servants, Go on before me; behold, I come after you. But she told not her husband Nabal.
20. And it was so, as she rode on the ass, that she came down by the covert of the hill, and behold, David and his men came down over against her; and she met them.
21. (Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this man hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained to him: and he hath requited me evil for good.