He said, “Be it far from me, Yahweh, that I should do this! Isn’t this the blood of the men who risked their lives to go?” Therefore he would not drink it. The three mighty men did these things.
Parallel Translations
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He said, “Be it far from me, Yahweh, that I should do this! Isn’t this the blood of the men who risked their lives to go?” Therefore he would not drink it. The three mighty men did these things.
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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.
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And he said: 'Be it far from me, O LORD, that I should do this; shall I drink the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives?' therefore he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men.
Cross-references (14)
Passages linked to 2 Samuel 23:17 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Leviticus 17:10 “ ‘Any man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who live as foreigners among them, who eats any kind of blood, I will set my face against that soul who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people.
- Genesis 9:4 But flesh with its life, that is, its blood, you shall not eat.
- Genesis 44:17 He said, “Far be it from me that I should do so. The man in whose hand the cup is found, he will be my slave; but as for you, go up in peace to your father.”
- Judges 5:18 Zebulun was a people that jeopardized their lives to the death; Naphtali also, on the high places of the field.
- 1 Samuel 2:30 “Therefore Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, ‘I said indeed that your house and the house of your father should walk before me forever.’ But now Yahweh says, ‘Far be it from me; for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me will be cursed.
- 1 Samuel 26:11 Yahweh forbid that I should stretch out my hand against Yahweh’s anointed; but now please take the spear that is at his head, and the jar of water, and let’s go.”
- 2 Samuel 20:20 Joab answered, “Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy.
- 1 Kings 21:3 Naboth said to Ahab, “May Yahweh forbid me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you!”
- Psalms 72:14 He will redeem their soul from oppression and violence. Their blood will be precious in his sight.
- Matthew 26:28 for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the remission of sins.
- Mark 14:24 He said to them, “This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many.
- John 6:52-54 The Jews therefore contended with one another, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” Jesus therefore said to them, “Most certainly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you don’t have life in yourselves. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
- 1 Corinthians 15:30 Why do we also stand in jeopardy every hour?
- 1 Chronicles 11:19 and said, “My God forbid me, that I should do this! Shall I drink the blood of these men who have put their lives in jeopardy?” For they risked their lives to bring it. Therefore he would not drink it. The three mighty men did these things.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (11 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2Sa 23:17 And he said, Be it far from…
2Sa 23:17 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.
Ver. 17. Is not this the blood of the men?] So, say we; Is not this the blood of the souls of our servants whom we keep from the ordinances, for our pleasure? It is reported of Dr Chatterton, master of Emmanuel College, that he was married fifty-three years, and yet in all that time he never kept any of his servants from church to prepare his dinner. {a}
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{a} Mr Clark, in his life.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Is not this the blood of the men, i.e.…
Is not this the blood of the men, i.e. the price of their blood or lives, which they rashly exposed to manifest hazard?
These things did these three mighty men; either one of these three are here omitted, as one of the first three is not named, 1Ch 11; or Abishai, who follows next, was one of these three.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And he said, be it far from me, O…
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:
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therefore he would not drink it: some compare with this the story of Alexander (d) 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.
(d) Curt. Hist. l. 7. c. 5.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain These three - Jointly: then two of them are…
These three - Jointly: then two of them are mentioned severally.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 2Sa 23:17. He said, Far be it from me…
2Sa 23:17. He said, Far be it from me — He looked upon it no longer as water, but as the blood of those men who fetched it with the peril of their lives; and the blood of every thing belonged to the Lord, and therefore he poured it out before him. If the generosity of David’s worthies was great, David’s generosity was no less so. Such actions as these dignify human nature, and manifest an excellence and grandeur which one should not otherwise think it capable of. These things did these three — They all joined in this hazardous exploit. But now follows what they did singly.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Better as in 1Ch 11:19.
Better as in 1Ch 11:19.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Drink. This word is acknowledged in 1 Paralipomenon and…
Drink. This word is acknowledged in 1 Paralipomenon and in all the ancient versions. (Kennicott) --- Protestants supply, "Is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives?" Instead of Jehova, (Haydock) which ought to have m prefixed, we find maleim; (1 Paralipomenon) a word never used in such solemn appeals to the Lord. This seems owing to the superstition of the Jews, who would not pronounce the former name, perhaps in imitation of the heathens, who kept the names of their tutelar gods secret, lest the enemy might call them out, and thus obtain possession of their country. See Macrobius iii. 9. No mention is made of the Romans making use of this mode of evocation at the last siege of Jerusalem, as they were unacquainted with the true name of God. Virgil (ii. 351,) writes,--- Excessere omnes Adytis Arisque relictis,
Dii quibus imperium hoc steterat.----- See Servius; Kennicott.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 17. Be it far from me — The tender…
17. Be it far from me — The tender hearted chieftain felt that it would be like drinking the blood of his men. The event shows both the affection and devotion of David’s soldiers for their leader, and his tenderness towards them.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 17. is not this the blood] As the text…
17. is not this the blood] As the text stands, the sentence is simply an interrogative exclamation: The blood of the men …? But Sept., Vulg. and Chron. read: Shall I drink the blood …? The water fetched at the risk of his comrades’ lives seemed to him the very blood in which the life resides (Lev_17:10-11).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (17) Is not this the blood . . .?—The…
(17) Is not this the blood . . .?—The Hebrew here is simply an interrogative exclamation, “the blood of the men?” but in 1Ch_11:19 the text reads, “Shall I drink the blood of these men?” &c., and so the LXX. and Vulg. translate here. To David the water gained only at the risk of life, “seemed the very blood in which the life resides” (Lev_17:10-11).
These three.—Rather, the three.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 23:17 This water . . . these men: When…
23:17 This water . . . these men: When David poured the hard-won water on the ground, it did not signal ingratitude. Rather, he regarded the water as equivalent to the warriors’ blood; it represented life that only God was worthy to receive (Lev 17:10-13; Deut 12:23-24).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.