4 ¶ And David heard in the wilderness, that Nabal did shear his sheep .
5 And David sent out ten young men, and David said unto the young men, Get ye up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name.
6 And thus shall ye say to him that liveth in pro∣sperity , Peace be both to thee, and peace be to thine house , and peace be unto all that thou hast .
7 And now I have heard that thou hast shear∣ers: now thy shepherds which were with us, we hurt them not, neither was there ought missing unto them, all the while they were in Carmel .
8 Ask thy young men, and they will shew thee: wherefore let the young men find favour 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.
9 And when Davids young men came, they spake to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and ceased.
10 ¶ And Nabal answerd Davids 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 .
11 Shall I then take my bread, and my water , and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men whom I know not whence they be?
12 So Davids young men turned their way, and went again, and came and told him all those sayings.
13 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 .
14 ¶ But one of the young men told Abigail Nabals wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he railed on them.
15 But the men were very good unto 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 unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keep∣ing the sheep.
17 Now therefore know, and consider what thou wilt do: for evil is determined against our master, and against all his houshold : 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 an hundred clusters of rai∣sins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses.
19 And she said unto 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 asse, that she came down by the covert of the hill , and behold, David and his men came down against her, and she met them.
21 (Now David had said , Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilder∣ness, so that nothing was missed of all that per∣tained unto him, and he hath requited me evil for good.
22 So, and more also do God unto the enemies of David , if I leave of all that pertain unto him by the morning light, any that pisseth against the wall ).