1. Now Samuel died, and all Israel gathered for his funeral. They buried him at his house in Ramah.Then David moved down to the wilderness of Maon.
2. There was a wealthy man from Maon who owned property near the town of Carmel. He had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats, and it was sheep-shearing time.
3. This man’s name was Nabal, and his wife, Abigail, was a sensible and beautiful woman. But Nabal, a descendant of Caleb, was crude and mean in all his dealings.
4. When David heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep,
5. he sent ten of his young men to Carmel with this message for Nabal:
6. “Peace and prosperity to you, your family, and everything you own!