2 Samuel 23:17

17 saying, "There is no way, God, that I'll drink this! This isn't mere water, it's their life-blood - they risked their very lives to bring it!" So David refused to drink it. This is the sort of thing that the Three 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 sudden craving and said, "Would I ever like a drink of water from the well at the gate of Bethlehem!"

16 So the Three penetrated the Philistine lines, drew water from the well at the gate of Bethlehem, and brought it back to David. But David wouldn't drink it; he poured it out as an offering to God,

17 saying, "There is no way, God, that I'll drink this! This isn't mere water, it's their life-blood - they risked their very lives to bring it!" So David refused to drink it. This is the sort of thing that the Three did.

18 Abishai brother of Joab and son of Zeruiah was the head of the Thirty. He once got credit for killing three hundred with his spear, but he was never named in the same breath as the Three.

19 He was the most respected of the Thirty and was their captain, but never got included among the Three