David’s Elite Soldiers^(A)

¹⁰ These are the leaders of the elite warriors who were strong supporters of David in his kingdom, along with all of Israel, in keeping with the message from the Lord concerning Israel. ¹¹ This record of the warriors who were for David included^[a] Hachmoni’s son Jashobeam,^[b] leader of the platoons,^[c] who killed 300 with his spear in a single encounter.

¹² Next to him among the Three Warriors^[d] was Dodo^[e] the Ahohite’s son Eleazar. ¹³ He was with David at Pas-dammim when the Philistines were there to engage them in battle. There was a field planted with barley, and the army had run away from the Philistines, ¹⁴ but they took a defensive stand in the middle of the field and killed the Philistines while the Lord saved them by means of a great victory.^[f]

¹⁵ Later, the Three Warriors went down to David’s hideout^[g] at the cave of Adullam when the Philistine army was camping in the valley of giants.^{[h] 16} David was living in that stronghold at the time, while a Philistine garrison was then at Bethlehem. ¹⁷ David expressed a longing, “Oh, how I wish someone would get me a drink of water from the Bethlehem well that’s by the city gate!” ¹⁸ So the Three Warriors broke through the Philistine ranks, drew some water from the Bethlehem well that was next to the city gate, and brought it back to David. But David refused to drink it, poured it out in the Lord’s presence, and ¹⁹ said in response, “May God forbid me to do this! I won’t drink the blood of these men, will I? After all, they risked their lives to bring it to me.”^[i] That’s why he wouldn’t drink it. The Three Warriors did these things.