1 Chronicles 11:17–19
17 And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Beth-lehem, that is at the gate! 18 And the three brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Beth-lehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: but David would not drink of it, but poured it out to the Lord, 19 And said, My God forbid it me, that I should do this thing: shall I drink the blood of these men †that have put their lives in jeopardy? for with the jeopardy of their lives they brought it. Therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mightiest.
1 Chronicles 11:17–19 — The New International Version (NIV)
17 David longed for water and said, “Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!” 18 So the Three 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 to the Lord. 19 “God forbid that I should do this!” he said. “Should I drink the blood of these men who went at the risk of their lives?” Because they risked their lives to bring it back, David would not drink it.
Such were the exploits of the three mighty warriors.
1 Chronicles 11:17–19 — English Standard Version (ESV)
17 And David said longingly, “Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” 18 Then 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 took it and brought it to David. But David would not drink it. He poured it out to the Lord 19 and said, “Far be it from me before my God that I should do this. Shall I drink the lifeblood of these men? For at the risk of their lives they brought it.” Therefore he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men.
1 Chronicles 11:17–19 — New Living Translation (NLT)
17 David remarked longingly to his men, “Oh, how I would love some of that good water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem.” 18 So 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 David refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out as an offering to the Lord. 19 “God 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.
1 Chronicles 11:17–19 — The New King James Version (NKJV)
17 And David said with longing, “Oh, that someone would give me a drink of water from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!” 18 So the three 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 David would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord. 19 And he said, “Far be it from me, O my God, that I should do this! Shall I drink the blood of these men who have put their lives in jeopardy? For at the risk of their lives they brought it.” Therefore he would not drink it. These things were done by the three mighty men.
1 Chronicles 11:17–19 — New Century Version (NCV)
17 David had a strong desire for some water. He said, “Oh, I wish someone would get me water from the well near the city gate of Bethlehem!” 18 So the Three broke through the Philistine army and took water from the well near the city gate in Bethlehem. Then they brought it to David, but he refused to drink it. He poured it out before the Lord, 19 saying, “May God keep me from drinking this water! It would be like drinking the blood of the men who risked their lives to bring it to me!” So David refused to drink it.
These were the brave things that the three warriors did.
1 Chronicles 11:17–19 — American Standard Version (ASV)
17 And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me water to drink of the well of Beth-lehem, which is by the gate! 18 And the three brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Beth-lehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: but David would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto Jehovah, 19 and said, My God forbid it me, that I should do this: shall I drink the blood of these men that have put their lives in jeopardy? for with the jeopardy of their lives they brought it. Therefore he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men.
1 Chronicles 11:17–19 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)
17 And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me to drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is in the gate! 18 And the three broke through the camp of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, which is in the gate, and took it, and brought it to David; David however would not drink of it, but poured it out to Jehovah. 19 And he said, My God forbid it me, that I should do this thing! should I drink the blood of these men who went at the risk of their lives? for at the risk of their lives they brought it. Therefore he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men.
1 Chronicles 11:17–19 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
17 David was thirsty and said, “I wish I could have a drink of water from the cistern at the city gate of Bethlehem.” 18 So the three burst into the Philistine camp and drew water from the cistern. They brought it to David, but he refused to drink it. He poured it out ⸤as an offering⸥ to the Lord 19 and said, “It’s unthinkable that I would do this, God. Should I drink the blood of these men who risked their lives? They had to risk their lives to get this water.” So he refused to drink it.
These are the things which the three fighting men did.
1 Chronicles 11:17–19 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
17 David was extremely thirsty and said, “If only someone would bring me water to drink from the well at the city gate of Bethlehem!” 18 So the Three 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. 19 David said, “I would never do such a thing in the presence of God! How can I drink the blood of these men who risked their lives?” For they brought it at the risk of their lives. So he would not drink it. Such were the exploits of the three warriors.
1 Chronicles 11:17–19 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
17 David said longingly, “O that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” 18 Then the Three broke through the camp of the Philistines, and drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and they brought it to David. But David would not drink of it; he poured it out to the Lord, 19 and said, “My God forbid that I should do this. Can I drink the blood of these men? For at the risk of their lives they brought it.” Therefore he would not drink it. The three warriors did these things.
1 Chronicles 11:17–19 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)
17 And David had a craving, and he said, “Who could give me a drink of water from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” 18 Then the three broke through into the camp of the Philistines and drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and brought it and came to David. But David would not drink it and poured it out before Yahweh. 19 And he said, “Far be it from me that I would do this before my God. Shall I drink the lifeblood of these men? For at the risk of their lives they brought it.” And he was not willing to drink it. These things the three mighty men did.
1 Chronicles 11:17–19 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)
17 David longed for water. He said, “I wish someone would get me a drink of water from the well that is near the gate of Bethlehem!”
18 So the Three fought their way past the Philistine guards. They got some water from the well that was near the gate of Bethlehem. They took the water back to David.
But David refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out as a drink offering to the Lord. 19 “I would never drink that water!” David said. “It would be like drinking the blood of these men. They put their lives in danger by going to Bethlehem.” The men had put their lives in danger by bringing the water back. So David wouldn’t drink it.
Those were some of the brave things the three mighty men did.
1 Chronicles 11:17–19 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)
17 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!”
18 So the three broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water from the well of Bethlehem which was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David; nevertheless David would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord;
19 and he said, “Be it far from me before my God that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of these men who went at the risk of their lives? For at the risk of their lives they brought it.” Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.