2 Samuel 23:17

17 "The LORD forbid that I should do that," he said. "Isn't this the blood of men who risked their lives?" So he refused to drink it. These were the kinds of things the three warriors did.

2 Samuel 23:17 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 23:17

And he said, be it far from me, O Lord, that one should do
this
Drink of the water these men had brought him:

[is not this] the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their
lives?
who risked the shedding of their blood, and went in danger of their lives to get it:

therefore he would not drink it:
some compare with this the story of Alexander ^F4 to whom a vessel of water was offered when in extreme thirst, which he refused, because he could not bear to drink it alone, and so small a quantity could not be divided among all about him; but the reasons are not the same:

these things did these three mighty men;
which made them very famous.

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FOOTNOTES:

F4 Curt. Hist. l. 7. c. 5.

2 Samuel 23:17 In-Context

15 David had a craving and said, "If only someone could give me a drink of water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem."

16 So the three warriors broke through the Philistine camp and drew water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem and brought it back to David. But he refused to drink it and poured it out to the LORD.

17 "The LORD forbid that I should do that," he said. "Isn't this the blood of men who risked their lives?" So he refused to drink it. These were the kinds of things the three warriors did.

18 Now Zeruiah's son Abishai, the brother of Joab, was chief of the Thirty. He raised his spear against three hundred men, killed them, and made a name for himself along with the Three.

19 He was the most famous of the Thirty. He became their commander, but he wasn't among the Three.