2 Samuel 23:17

2 Samuel 23:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And he said, Be it far from me, O Lord, that I should do this: is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mighty men.
• New International Version (NIV)“Far be it from me, Lord, to do this!” he said. “Is it not the blood of men who went at the risk of their lives?” And David would not drink it. Such were the exploits of the three mighty warriors.
• English Standard Version (ESV)and said, "Far be it from me, O Lord, that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?" Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And he said, “Far be it from me, O Lord, that I should do this! Is this not the blood of the men who went in jeopardy of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it. These things were done by the three mighty men.

Context of 2 Samuel 23:17

15David was very thirsty. He said, ‘I want someone to bring water from the well near Bethlehem's gate for me to drink.’ 16So the three brave soldiers fought through the Philistine camp and they reached Bethlehem's gate. They took some water from the well there and they carried it back to David. But he refused to drink it. He poured it on the ground as an offering to the Lord. He said, ‘Lord, it is not right for me to drink this water. It would seem like the blood of the men who fetched it for me. The Philistines might have killed them on the way.’ So David refused to drink it. Those were some of the great things that the three brave soldiers did. 18Abishai was the leader of David's 30 great soldiers. He was the brother of Zeruiah's son Joab. One time, he used his spear to fight 300 men and he killed them all. So he became as famous as the ‘Three Brave Soldiers’. 19He was not one of the ‘Three Brave Soldiers’ but he received more honour than the other 30 great soldiers. So he became their leader.

2 Samuel 23:17 word by word

וַיֹּ֡אמֶר חָלִילָה֩ לִּ֨י יְהוָ֜ה מֵעֲשֹׂ֣תִי זֹ֗את הֲדַ֤ם הָֽאֲנָשִׁים֙ הַהֹלְכִ֣ים בְּנַפְשׁוֹתָ֔ם וְלֹ֥א אָבָ֖ה לִשְׁתּוֹתָ֑ם אֵ֣לֶּה עָשׂ֔וּ שְׁלֹ֖שֶׁת הַגִּבֹּרִֽים׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And he saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Be it farחָלִ֫ילָהchâlîylâh châlilâh · forbidH2486
• from me, O Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• that I should doעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• the bloodדָּםdâm · bloodH1818
• of the menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
• that wentהָלַךְhâlak · to go: wentH1980
• in jeopardy of their livesנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: lifeH5315
• therefore he wouldאָבָה'âbâh · be willingH14
• not drinkשָׁתָהshâthâh · to drinkH8354
• these threeשָׁלֹשׁshâlôsh shâlôsh shelôshâh shelôshâh · threeH7969
• mighty menגִּבּוֹרgibbôr gibbôr · mighty manH1368

Cross-references for 2 Samuel 23:17

• 2 Samuel 20:20Joab answered her, ‘That is stupid! I would never do that! I am not trying to destroy anything.
• Genesis 44:17But Joseph said, ‘I would not do a thing like that! Only the man who had the cup will be my slave. The rest of you can return to your father. You may go as my friends.’
• 1 Samuel 2:30Because of what you have done, the Lord, Israel's God, says this to you: “I promised your family and your ancestors that they would serve me as priests for ever.” But now the Lord says, “That will never happen! I will give honour to people who respect me. But I will curse people who insult me.
• 1 Samuel 26:11But I ask the Lord to stop me from hurting him, because he is the Lord's chosen king. Take the spear and the jar of water that are near Saul's head. We must leave here now!’
• 1 Kings 21:3Naboth replied to Ahab, ‘The Lord will never allow that to happen! It belongs to me because it belonged to my ancestors.’
• 1 Chronicles 11:19He said, ‘God knows that it is not right for me to drink this water. It would seem like the blood of the brave men who fetched it for me. The Philistines might have killed them on the way.’ So David refused to drink it. That was one of the great things that those three brave soldiers did.
• Genesis 9:4But you must not eat meat that still has the blood of life in it.
• Leviticus 17:10An Israelite or a foreigner who lives among you must not eat blood. And they must not drink it. If somebody does, God will turn away from him. He will take that person away from his people.
• Psalms 72:14He will rescue them from cruel people who hurt them. Their lives are important to him.
• Matthew 26:28This is my blood that shows God's promise. When I die, my blood will pour out of my body. In that way God will forgive many people for the wrong things that they have done. That is the promise that God makes because of my death.
• Mark 14:24Jesus said to them, ‘This is my blood that shows God's promise. When I die, my blood will pour out of my body. In that way God will save many people. That is the promise that God makes because of my death.
• John 6:52Then the Jewish leaders became angry and they argued with each other even more. They said, ‘This man cannot give his body to us so that we can eat it!’
• Judges 5:18But the men of Zebulun's tribe were not afraid to die in war. The men of Naphtali's tribe were also ready to attack the enemy.
• 1 Corinthians 15:30Also, think about us! All the time we are in great danger.

Commentaries on 2 Samuel 23:17

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17Better as in 1 Chronicles 11:19.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-39Verses 8-39 David once earnestly longed for the water at the well of Bethlehem. It seems to be an instance of weakness. He was thirsty; with the water of that well he had often refreshed himself when a youth, and it was without due thought that he desired it. Were his valiant men so forward to expose themselves, upon the least hint of their prince's mind, and so eager to please him, and shall not we long to approve ourselves to our Lord Jesus, by ready…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17Is this not the blood of the men: When David poured the water onto the ground, this action did not show ingratitude. Instead, the water had been brought back at the risk of the warriors’ lives. David treated the water as equal to their blood. In this way, the water represented life itself, which belongs to God alone and must not be consumed by humans (Leviticus 17:10–13; Deuteronomy 12:23–24).Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Samuel 23:17

• Armies
• Unselfishness

In the dictionaries

• Bethlehem
• David
• Giants
• Hareth
• Jashobeam
• Rephaim, Valley of
• Sure
• Troop
• Abishai
• Adullam

Commentaries on 2 Samuel 23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings