2 Samuel 23:11-20
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 23
11Now after him was Shammah the son of Agee, a Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered into an army where there was a plot of land full of lentils, and the people fled from the Philistines. 12But he took his stand in the midst of the plot, defended it, and struck the Philistines; and the Lord brought about a great victory.
13Then three of the thirty chief men went down and came to David at harvest time to the cave of Adullam, while the army of the Philistines was camping in the Valley of Rephaim.
14David was then in the stronghold, while the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem.
15And David had a craving and said, 'Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem which is by the gate!'
16So the three mighty men forced their way into the camp of the Philistines, and drew water from the well of Bethlehem which was by the gate, and carried it and brought it to David. Yet he would not drink it, but poured it out as an offering to the Lord;
17and he said, 'Far be it from me, Lord, that I would do this! Should I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?' So he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.
18Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of the thirty. And he swung his spear against three hundred and killed them, and had a name as well as the three.
19He was the most honored among the thirty, so he became their commander; however, he did not attain to the reputation of the three.
King James Version
Chapter 23
11And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a piece of ground full of lentiles: and the people fled from the Philistines. 12But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the Philistines: and the Lord wrought a great victory.
13And three of the thirty chief went down, and came to David in the harvest time unto the cave of Adullam: and the troop of the Philistines pitched in the valley of Rephaim.
14And David was then in an hold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem.
15And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!
16And the three mighty men brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: nevertheless he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the Lord.
17And 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.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 23
11After him was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines had assembled in formation where there was a field full of lentils. The troops fled from the Philistines, 12but Shammah took his stand in the middle of the field, defended it, and struck down the Philistines. So the Lord brought about a great victory.
13Three of the thirty leading warriors went down at harvest time and came to David at the cave of Adullam, while a company of Philistines was camping in the Valley of Rephaim.
14At that time David was in the stronghold, and a Philistine garrison was at Bethlehem.
15David was extremely thirsty and said, "If only someone would bring me water to drink from the well at the city gate of Bethlehem!"
16So three of the warriors broke through the Philistine camp and drew water from the well at the gate of Bethlehem. They brought it back to David, but he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out to the Lord.
17David said, "Lord, I would never do such a thing! Is this not the blood of men who risked their lives?" So he refused to drink it. Such were the exploits of the three warriors.
New Living Translation
Chapter 23
11Next in rank was Shammah son of Agee from Harar. One time the Philistines gathered at Lehi and attacked the Israelites in a field full of lentils. The Israelite army fled, 12but Shammah held his ground in the middle of the field and beat back the Philistines. So the Lord brought about a great victory.
13Once during the harvest, when David was at the cave of Adullam, the Philistine army was camped in the valley of Rephaim. The Three (who were among the Thirty — an elite group among David’s fighting men) went down to meet him there.
14David was staying in the stronghold at the time, and a Philistine detachment had occupied the town of Bethlehem.
15David remarked longingly to his men, 'Oh, how I would love some of that good water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem.'
16So 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.
17The 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.
18Abishai 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.
19Abishai was the most famous of the Thirty and was their commander, though he was not one of the Three.
English Standard Version
Chapter 23
11And next to him was Shammah, the son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines gathered together at Lehi, where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the men fled from the Philistines. 12But he took his stand in the midst of the plot and defended it and struck down the Philistines, and the Lord worked a great victory.
13And three of the thirty chief men went down and came about harvest time to David at the cave of Adullam, when a band of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim.
14David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem.
15And David said longingly, "Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!"
16Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and carried and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it. He poured it out to the Lord
17and 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 International Version
Chapter 23
11Next to him was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. When the Philistines banded together at a place where there was a field full of lentils, Israel’s troops fled from them. 12But Shammah took his stand in the middle of the field. He defended it and struck the Philistines down, and the Lord brought about a great victory.
13During harvest time, three of the thirty chief warriors came down to David at the cave of Adullam, while a band of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim.
14At that time David was in the stronghold, and the Philistine garrison was at Bethlehem.
15David longed for water and said, "Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!"
16So the three mighty warriors broke through the Philistine lines, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out before the Lord.
New King James Version
Chapter 23
11And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines had gathered together into a troop where there was a piece of ground full of lentils. So the people fled from the Philistines. 12But he stationed himself in the middle of the field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. So the Lord brought about a great victory.
13Then three of the thirty chief men went down at harvest time and came to David at the cave of Adullam. And the troop of Philistines encamped in the Valley of Rephaim.
14David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem.
15And David said with longing, “Oh, that someone would give me a drink of the water from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!”
16So the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David. Nevertheless he would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord.
