4. David was in the desert when he heard that Nabal was cutting the wool from his sheep.
5. David sent ten young men to talk to Nabal. He told them, “Go to Carmel. Find Nabal and tell him ‘Hello’ for me.”
6. David gave them this message for Nabal: “May you and your family be well and all that you own be well.
7. I heard that you are cutting wool from your sheep. Your shepherds were with us for a while, and we did nothing wrong to them. We never took anything from your shepherds while they were at Carmel.
8. Ask your servants and they will tell you this is true. Please be kind to my young men. We come to you now, at this happy time. Please give these young men anything you can. Please do this for me, your friend David.”
9. David’s men went to Nabal. They gave his message to Nabal,
10. but Nabal said, “Who is David? Who is this son of Jesse? There are many slaves who have run away from their masters these days.
11. I have bread and water, and I have the meat I killed for my servants who cut the wool from my sheep. But I won’t give them to men I don’t even know.”
12. David’s men went back and told him everything that Nabal had said.
13. David’s response was, “Put on your swords.” So David and his men put on their swords. About 400 men went with David while 200 of them stayed with the supplies.
14. One of Nabal’s servants spoke to Nabal’s wife Abigail. The servant said, “David sent messengers from the desert to meet our master, but Nabal was rude to them.
15. These men were very good to us while we were out in the fields with the sheep. David’s men were with us the whole time, and they never did anything wrong to us. They did not take anything from us.
16. His men protected us night and day. They were like a wall around us—they protected us while we were with them caring for the sheep.