¹⁰ And Nabal answered David's servants, ^(A)“Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? ^(B)There are many servants these days who are breaking away from their masters. ¹¹ Shall I take ^(C)my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers and give it to ^(D)men who come from I do not know where?” ¹² So David's young men turned away and came back and told him all this. ¹³ And David said to his men, “Every man strap on his sword!” And every man of them strapped on his sword. David also strapped on his sword. And ^(E)about four hundred men went up after David, ^(F)while two hundred ^(G)remained with the baggage.

¹³ And the king answered the people harshly, and forsaking the counsel that the old men had given him, ¹⁴ he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, ^(A)“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 scorpions.” ¹⁵ So the king did not listen to the people, for ^(B)it was a turn of affairs brought about by the Lord that he might fulfil his word, which ^(C)the Lord spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

The Kingdom Divided

¹⁶ And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, “What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. ^(D)To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David.” So Israel went to their tents.