There was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. This man was very wealthy; ¹  he owned three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. At that time he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

The man’s name was Nabal, ¹  and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was both wise ²  and beautiful, but the man was harsh and his deeds were evil. He was a Calebite.

David said to him, “To whom do you belong, and where are you from?” The young man said, “I am an Egyptian, the servant of an Amalekite man. My master abandoned me when I was ill for three days.

On the third day a man arrived from the camp of Saul with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. ¹  When he approached David, the man ²  threw himself to the ground. ³ 

Then the watchman saw another man running. The watchman called out to the gatekeeper, “There is another man running by himself.” The king said, “This one also is bringing good news.”

The king asked the Cushite, “How is the young man Absalom?” The Cushite replied, “May the enemies of my lord the king and all who have plotted against you ¹  be like that young man!”

Jeroboam was a talented man; ¹  when Solomon saw that the young man was an accomplished worker, he made him the leader of the work crew from the tribe ²  of Joseph.

King David said to the entire assembly: “My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is just an inexperienced young man, ¹  and the task is great, for this palace is not for man, but for the Lord God.

² There was a man ³  in the land of Uz ⁴  whose ⁵  name was Job. ⁶  And that man was pure ⁷  and upright, ⁸  one who feared God and turned away from evil. ⁹ 

For the wise man, like ¹  the fool, will not be remembered for very long, ²  because ³  in the days to come, both will already have been forgotten. ⁴  Alas, ⁵  the wise man dies – just like ⁶  the fool!

When the Lord ¹  commanded the man dressed in linen, “Take fire from within the wheelwork, from among the cherubim,” the man ²  went in and stood by one of the wheels. ³ 

“Son of man, speak to your people, ¹  and say to them, ‘Suppose I bring a sword against the land, and the people of the land take one man from their borders and make him their watchman.

When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you must certainly die,’ ¹  and you do not warn ²  the wicked about his behavior, ³  the wicked man will die for his iniquity, but I will hold you accountable for his death. ⁴ 

The Lord God planted an orchard ¹  in the east, ²  in Eden; ³  and there he placed the man he had formed. ⁴ 

Then the Lord God commanded ¹  the man, “You may freely eat ²  fruit ³  from every tree of the orchard,

Silently the man watched her with interest to determine ¹  if the Lord had made his journey successful ²  or not.

(Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban.) ¹  Laban rushed out to meet the man at the spring.

So Abimelech commanded all the people, “Whoever touches ¹  this man or his wife will surely be put to death.” ² 

“But Esau my brother is a hairy man,” Jacob protested to his mother Rebekah, “and I have smooth skin! ¹ 

Laban replied, “I’d rather give her to you than to another man. ¹  Stay with me.”