1 Chronicles 11:12-22

12 Next among the famous "Three" was Eleazar son of Dodo, of the clan of Ahoh.
13 He fought on David's side against the Philistines at the battle of Pas Dammim. He was in a barley field when the Israelites started to run away,
14 so he and his men took a stand in the middle of the field and fought the Philistines. The Lord gave him a great victory.
15 One day three of the thirty leading soldiers went to a rock where David was staying near Adullam Cave, while a band of Philistines was camping in Rephaim Valley.
16 At that time David was on a fortified hill, and a group of Philistines had occupied Bethlehem.
17 David got homesick and said, "How I wish someone would bring me a drink of water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem!"
18 The three famous soldiers forced their way through the Philistine camp, drew some water from the well, and brought it back to David. But he would not drink it; instead he poured it out as an offering to the Lord
19 and said, "I could never drink this! It would be like drinking the blood of these men who risked their lives!" So he refused to drink it. These were the brave deeds of the three famous soldiers.
20 Joab's brother Abishai was the leader of "The Famous Thirty." He fought with his spear against three hundred men and killed them, and became famous among "The Thirty."
21 He was the most famous of "The Thirty" and became their leader, but he was not as famous as "The Three."
22 Benaiah son of Jehoiada from Kabzeel was a famous soldier; he did many brave deeds, including killing two great Moabite warriors. He once went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion.

Footnotes 3

  • [a]. [One ancient translation] Thirty; [Hebrew] Three.
  • [b]. [One ancient translation (see also 2 S 23.18)] "The Thirty"; [Hebrew] "The Three."
  • [c]. [Probable text (see 2 S 23.19)] most famous of "The Thirty"; [Hebrew unclear.]
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.