2 Samuel 23:17-19,23 - Compare All Versions

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“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. Abishai the brother of Joab son of Zeruiah was chief of the Three. He raised his spear against three hundred men, whom he killed, and so he became as famous as the Three. Was he not held in greater honor than the Three? He became their commander, even though he was not included among them.

He was held in greater honor than any of the Thirty, but he was not included among the Three. And David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

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. Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of the thirty. And he wielded his spear against three hundred men and killed them and won a name beside the three. He was the most renowned of the thirty and became their commander, but he did not attain to the three.

He was renowned among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David set him over his bodyguard.

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

He was more honored than the other members of the Thirty, though he was not one of the Three. And David made him captain of his bodyguard.

David 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. Abishai, Joab’s brother and son of Zeruiah,  was leader of the Three.  He wielded his spear against three hundred men and killed them, gaining a reputation among the Three. Was he not more honored than the Three? He became their commander even though he did not become one of the Three.

He was the most honored of the Thirty, but he did not become one of the Three. David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

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. And Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief among three. And he lifted up his spear against three hundred, and slew them, and had the name among three. Was he not most honourable of three? therefore he was their captain: howbeit he attained not unto the first three.

He was more honourable than the thirty, but he attained not to the first three. And David set him over his guard.

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. Now Abishai the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of another three. He lifted his spear against three hundred men, killed them, and won a name among these three. Was he not the most honored of three? Therefore he became their captain. However, he did not attain to the first three.

He was more honored than the thirty, but he did not attain to the first three. And David appointed him over his guard.

One day during harvest, the Three parted from the Thirty and joined David at the Cave of Adullam. A squad of Philistines had set up camp in the Valley of Rephaim. While David was holed up in the Cave, the Philistines had their base camp in Bethlehem. David had a sudden craving and said, “Would I ever like a drink of water from the well at the gate of Bethlehem!” 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, 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. 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. He was the most respected of the Thirty and was their captain, but never got included among the Three.

These are the things that Benaiah son of Jehoiada is famous for. But neither did he ever get ranked with the Three. He was held in greatest respect among the Thirty, but he never got included with the Three. David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

and 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. Now 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. He was the most honored among the thirty, so he became their commander; however, he did not attain to the reputation of the three.

He was honored among the thirty, but he did not attain the reputation of the three. And David appointed him over his bodyguard.

And he said, “Far be it from me, O LORD, that I should drink this. [Is it not the same as] 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. Now Abishai the brother of Joab the son of Zeruiah was chief of the thirty. He wielded his spear against three hundred men and killed them, and gained a reputation beside the three. He was the most honored of the thirty, so he became their commander; however, he did not attain to the [greatness of the] three.

He was honored among the thirty, but he did not attain to the [greatness of the] three. David appointed him over his guard.

and said, “O LORD, I will not do this! It is equivalent to the blood of the men who risked their lives by going.” So he refused to drink it. Such were the exploits of the three elite warriors. Abishai son of Zeruiah, the brother of Joab, was head of the three. He killed three hundred men with his spear and gained fame among the three. From the three he was given honor and he became their officer, even though he was not one of the three.

He received honor from the thirty warriors, though he was not one of the three elite warriors. David put him in charge of his bodyguard.