1 Samuel 25:10
And Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many servants now a days that break away every man from his master. And Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many servants now a days that break away every man from his master.
The verse belongs to the time after Saul killed the priests of the Lord, when Abiathar son of Ahimelech escaped and fled to David, and David kept him in safeguard with himself because the one who sought David's life sought Abiathar's life also. Before the verse, David and his men had protected Nabal's shepherds and flocks like a wall of protection, and this rich man was then asked to furnish from his abundance some relief for the necessities of those who had done him such valuable service. Though they could have helped themselves from the flocks and herds they acted honestly and did not, and David made the request courteously.
In the verse Nabal answers that courteous request with insolence and scorn, questioning David's identity, treating David and the son of Jesse as unknown, and falsely portraying David and his men as runaway slaves by dismissing him as merely one of many servants now breaking away from or deserting their masters. He uses that accusation to justify refusing help despite their protection of his flocks and shepherds, thus returning evil for good. His answer reveals an ungrateful, selfish, contemptuous, churlish and miserly character upon whom the kindness done is lost. In contrast to Nabal's contempt, Abigail respectfully addresses David as her lord, which recognizes his standing and future as Israel's appointed prince.