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.
20. Joab’s brother Abishai was the leader of the thirty. He used his spear to kill 300 men, but he was not one of the three,
21. although he was honored more than they were. So he became their captain but didn’t become a member of the three.
22. Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, was from Kabzeel and was a brave man who did many things. He killed two distinguished soldiers from Moab. He also went into a cistern and killed a lion on the day it snowed.
23. He killed an eight-foot-tall Egyptian. The Egyptian had a spear like a weaver’s beam in his hand. But Benaiah went to him with a club, grabbed the spear away from him, and killed him with it.
24. These are the things that Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, did. He was as famous as the three fighting men.
25. He was honored more than the thirty, but he was not a member of the three. David put him in charge of his bodyguards.
26. The distinguished fighting men wereJoab’s brother Asahel,Elhanan (son of Dodo) from Bethlehem,
27. Shammoth from Harod,Helez the Pelonite,
28. Ira (son of Ikkesh) from Tekoa,Abiezer from Anathoth,