Albert Barnes Commentary 2 Samuel 10:3

"But the princes of the children of Ammon said unto Hanun their lord, Thinkest thou that David doth honor thy father, in that he hath sent comforters unto thee? hath not David sent his servants unto thee to search the city, and to spy it out, and to overthrow it?" — 2 Samuel 10:3 (ASV)

The princes... — Compare Rehoboam’s advisers (1 Kings 12:10–11). It is not improbable that David’s severe treatment of Moab (2 Samuel 8:2) was partly the cause of the Ammonites’ fear that a similar treatment was in store for them.