¹⁷ “You are more righteous than I,”^(A) he said. “You have treated me well,^(B) but I have treated you badly.^(C)

¹⁹ The king said to Ittai^(A) the Gittite, “Why should you come along with us? Go back and stay with King Absalom. You are a foreigner,^(B) an exile from your homeland.

²⁰ You came only yesterday. And today shall I make you wander^(A) about with us, when I do not know where I am going? Go back, and take your people with you. May the Lord show you kindness and faithfulness.”^[a](B)

¹⁶ So 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^(A) it out before the Lord.

¹⁷ “Far be it from me, Lord, to do this!” he said. “Is it not the blood^(A) 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.

¹⁷ David said to God, “Was it not I who ordered the fighting men to be counted? I, the shepherd,^[a] have sinned and done wrong. These are but sheep.^(A) What have they done? Lord my God, let your hand fall on me and my family,^(B) but do not let this plague remain on your people.”

BOOK I

Psalms 1–41

Psalm 1