¹⁸ Then once more you shall see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.^(A)

²⁵ My lord, do not take seriously this ill-natured fellow, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he; Nabal^[a] is his name, and folly is with him, but I, your servant, did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent.^(A)

³ Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife was Abigail. The woman was clever and beautiful, but the man was surly and mean; he was a Calebite. ⁴ David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. ⁵ So David sent ten young men, and David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name. ⁶ Thus you shall salute him, ‘Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have.^{(A) 7} I hear that you have shearers; now your shepherds have been with us, and we did them no harm, and they missed nothing all the time they were in Carmel.^{(B) 8} Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your sight, for we have come on a feast day. Please give whatever you have at hand to your servants and to your son David.’ ”^(C)