10 Nabal asked them, “Who is David?(A) Who is Jesse’s son? Many slaves these days are running away from their masters. 11 Am I supposed to take my bread, my water, and my meat that I butchered for my shearers and give them to these men? I don’t know where they are from.”

12 David’s men retraced their steps. When they returned to him, they reported all these words. 13 He said to his men, “All of you, put on your swords!” So David and all his men put on their swords. About 400 men followed David while 200 stayed with the supplies.(B)

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13 Then the king answered the people harshly. He rejected the advice the elders had given him 14 and spoke to them according to the young men’s advice: “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with barbed whips.”[a]

15 The king did not listen to the people, because this turn of events came from the Lord(A) to carry out His word, which the Lord had spoken through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.(B) 16 When all Israel saw that the king had not listened to them, the people answered him:

What portion do we have in David?
We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse.(C)
Israel, return to your tents;
David, now look after your own house!(D)

So Israel went to their tents,

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 12:14 Lit with scorpions

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