2 Samuel 23:10-20

10 he/Eleazar stood in battle, when his fellows went aback, and smote the Philistines, till that his hand failed, and was stark with the sword. And the Lord made great health in that day; and the people that fled turned again, to draw away the spoils of [the] slain men. (Eleazar stood his ground in the battle, while his fellows fled, and he struck down the Philistines, until his hand failed, and was fixed, or frozen, to the sword. And the Lord gave great victory that day; and the people who had fled returned to take away the spoils from the dead.)
11 And after him was Shammah, the son of Agee, of Hararites. And Philistines were gathered in the station; and there was a field full of lentils, or vetches; and when the people of Israel [had] fled from the face of Philistines, (And the third member of The Three was Shammah, the son of Agee, of the Hararites. And when the Philistines were gathered at Lehi; and there was a field full of lentils; and the people of Israel had fled from before the Philistines,)
12 he stood in the midst of the field, and beheld it, for he defended the field; and he smote the Philistines, and the Lord made there [a] great health. (he stood there in the midst of the field, and held it, and he defended that field; and he struck down the Philistines, and the Lord gave a great victory there.)
13 Also and three men went down before, that were princes among (the) thirty, and came to David in the time of reap(ing) into the den of Adullam. And the tents of Philistines were set in the valley of giants. (And three of The Thirty came down at the beginning of the harvest to join David at the cave of Adullam. And the Philistines? tents were pitched in the Rephaim Valley.)
14 And David was in a stronghold; and the station of Philistines was then in Bethlehem. (And David was in a stronghold; and a Philistine garrison was at Bethlehem.
15 Then David desired water of the well (Then David desired water out of the cistern), and said, (O!) If any man would give to me (a) drink of the water (out) of the cistern, which is in Bethlehem, beside the gate.
16 Therefore (the) three strong men brake into the tents of Philistines, and drew water of the cistern of Bethlehem, that was beside the gate, and they brought it to David; and he would not drink, but offered it to the Lord, (And so The Three broke into the camp of the Philistines, and drew water out of the cistern of Bethlehem, that was beside the gate, and they brought it to David; but he would not drink it, but offered it to the Lord,)
17 and said, The Lord be merciful to me, that I do not this; whether I shall drink the blood of these men, that went forth, and the peril of their lives? Therefore he would not drink. (The) Three full strong men did these things. (and said, May the Lord be merciful to me, so that I do not do this; for should I drink the blood of these men, who went down there, risking their own lives? And so he would not drink it. The Three did these things.)
18 Also Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was prince of [the] three; he it is that raised his spear against three hundred men, which he killed; he was named among [the] three, (And Abishai, Joab's brother, the son of Zeruiah, was the leader of The Thirty; it was he who raised up his spear against three hundred men, whom he killed; he had the famous name among The Thirty,)
19 and was the nobler among (the) three, and he was the prince of them; but he came not to the three first men. (yea, he was the most famous of The Thirty, and he was their leader; but he did not come up to, or rival, The Three.
20 And Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, the strongest man of great works, of Kabzeel, he smote [the] two lions of Moab, that is, two knights hardy as lions/two strong hardy knights; and he went down, and smote a lion in the middle (of a) cistern in the days of snow.

2 Samuel 23:10-20 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO SECOND SAMUEL 23

In this chapter are recorded the last words of David under a divine inspiration, 2Sa 23:1-7; and an account is given of his great men, famous for warlike exploits, particularly of three mighty men who did very marvellous things, 2Sa 23:8-17; and of two others next unto them, which belonged to another class of three, 2Sa 23:18-23; and then of thirty one more, 2Sa 23:24-39; who are all mentioned by name.

Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.