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1 Samuel - ch 25 v 1 - 20
- And Samuel died; and all Israel gathered themselves together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah. And David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran.
- 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 he was of the house of Caleb.
- And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing 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 unto thee, and peace be to thy 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 thy 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 ceased.
- And Nabal answered David's servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there are 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 are?
- 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 baggage.
- But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he railed at them.
- But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we anything, as long as we went with them, when we were in the fields:
- they were a wall unto us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.
- Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his house: for he is such a worthless fellow, that one cannot speak to him.
- Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched grain, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses.
- And she said unto her young men, Go on before me; behold, I come after you. But she told not her husband Nabal.
- And it was so, as she rode on her ass, and came down by the covert of the mountain, that, behold, David and his men came down toward her; and she met them.
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