1 Samuel died, and all Israel gathered to mourn for him. They buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David went to the desert of Paran.
2 Now, there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. He was a very rich man. He had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats. And he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.
3 This man’s name was Nabal, and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was sensible and beautiful, but he was harsh and mean. He was a descendant of Caleb.
4 While David was in the desert, he heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep.
5 So David sent ten young men and told them, “Go to Carmel, visit Nabal, and greet him for me.
6 Say to him, ‘May you live ⌊long⌋! May you, your home, and all you have prosper!
7 I hear that your sheepshearers are with you. Your shepherds have been with us, ⌊and⌋ we have not mistreated them. Nothing of theirs has been missing as long as they’ve been in Carmel.