2 Samuel 23:17

17 “The LORD forbid that I should drink this!” he exclaimed. “This water is as precious as the blood of these men who risked their lives to bring it to me.” So David did not drink it. These are examples of the exploits of the Three.

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 remarked longingly to his men, “Oh, how I would love some of that good water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem.”

16 So the Three broke through the Philistine lines, drew some water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem, and brought it back to David. But he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out as an offering to the LORD .

17 “The LORD forbid that I should drink this!” he exclaimed. “This water is as precious as the blood of these men who risked their lives to bring it to me.” So David did not drink it. These are examples of the exploits of the Three.

18 Abishai son of Zeruiah, the brother of Joab, was the leader of the Thirty. He once used his spear to kill 300 enemy warriors in a single battle. It was by such feats that he became as famous as the Three.

19 Abishai was the most famous of the Thirty and was their commander, though he was not one of the Three.

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew Shall I drink the blood of these men?