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. Now the name of the man
was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and the woman was of good
understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish
and evil in his doings.
And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep. And
David sent ten young men, and David said unto the young men, "Get you
up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name: and thus
shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, 'Peace be both unto thee,
and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast. And
now I have heard that thou hast shearers: thy shepherds have now been
with us, and we did them no hurt, neither was there aught missing unto
them, all the while they were in Carmel. Ask thy young men, and they
will tell thee: wherefore let the young men find favor in thine eyes;
for we come in a good day: give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thine
hand, unto thy servants, and to thy son David.'"
And when David's young men came, they spake to Nabal according to all
those words in the name of David. And Nabal answered David's servants,
and said, "Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many
servants now-a-days that break away every man from his master. Shall I
then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my
shearers, and give it unto men of whom I know not whence they be?"
So David's young men turned on their way, and went back, and came and
told him according to all these words. And David said unto 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 stuff.