Based on the idea of waiting found in the previous verse, Good News Translation adds the word “finally” to modify the verb answered.

The two questions Who is David? and Who is the son of Jesse? both refer to David. Nabal is not so much asking who David is. Rather his questions are a way of belittling David, a famous leader in Saul’s army. Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente says “Who is David? The son of Jesse? I don’t know him.” A better translation, however, is “Who does this son of Jesse think he is?” (New Living Translation). In some cases the ironic character of Nabal’s words may be conveyed by adding a demonstrative pronoun as New International Version does “Who is this David? Who is this son of Jesse?”

Servants: the Hebrew term rendered servants in Revised Standard Version covers a wide range of meanings (compare 16.15). Here the word “slave” seems preferable (Good News Translation, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, and Revised English Bible). But this does represent the same word as that translated servants in verse 8. And perhaps Nabal intentionally uses the same word as David’s men had just spoken. The verb translated breaking away means simply “to run away.” The reference is to slaves who are running away from their owners in order to gain freedom.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .