2 Samuel 23:15

New Life Version

David had a desire and said, "If only someone would give me water to drink from the well by the gate of Bethlehem!"

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
David was extremely thirsty and said, “If only someone would bring me water to drink from the well at the city gate of Bethlehem!”

Hebrew Names Version
David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me water to drink of the well of Beit-Lechem, which is by the gate!

King James Version
And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!

English Standard Version
And David said longingly, "Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!"

New Century Version
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!"

New English Translation
David was thirsty and said, "How I wish someone would give me some water to drink from the cistern in Bethlehem near the gate!"

Amplified Bible
And 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!"

New American Standard Bible
And 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!"

Geneva Bible (1587)
And Dauid longed, and said, Oh, that one would giue me to drinke of the water of the well of Beth-lehem, which is by the gate.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then 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!"

Contemporary English Version
and he was very thirsty. He said, "I wish I had a drink from the well by the gate at Bethlehem."

Complete Jewish Bible
David had a craving and said, "I wish someone could give me water to drink from the well by the gate of Beit-Lechem!"

Darby Translation
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!

Easy-to-Read Version
David was thirsty for some water from his hometown, so he said, "Oh, if only I could have some water from that well by the gate in Bethlehem."

George Lamsa Translation
And David longed for water and said, O that one would give me a drink of water from the great well which is in the city of Beth-lehem!

Good News Translation
David grew homesick and said, "How I wish someone would bring me a drink of water from the well by the gate at Bethlehem!"

Lexham English Bible
David said longingly, "Oh that someone would bring me a drink of water from the well of Bethlehem that is at the gate."

Literal Translation
And David longed, and said, Who shall give me drink from the water of the well of Bethlehem beside the gate?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And Dauid was desyrous, and sayde: Wolde God yt some man wolde fetch me a drynke of water out of the well at Bethleem vnder the gate.

American Standard Version
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!

Bible in Basic English
And David, moved by a strong desire, said, If only someone would give me a drink of water from the water-hole of Beth-lehem, by the doorway into the town!

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Dauid longed, & saide: Oh that I had of the water that is in the wel by the gate of Bethlehem for to drynke.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
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!'

King James Version (1611)
And Dauid longed, and said, Oh that one would giue mee drinke of the water of the well of Bethlehem which is by the gate.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And David longed, and said, Who will give me water to drink out of the well that is in Bethleem by the gate? now the band of the Philistines was then in Bethleem.

English Revised Version
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!

Berean Standard Bible
David longed for water and said, "Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!"

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Therfor Dauid desiride water of the lake, and seide, If ony man wolde yyue to me drynk of watir of the cisterne, which is in Bethleem, bisidis the yate.

Young's Literal Translation
and David longeth and saith, `Who doth give me a drink of the water of the well of Beth-Lehem, which [is] by the gate?'

Update Bible Version
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!

Webster's Bible Translation
And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Beth-lehem, which [is] by the gate!

World English Bible
David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me water to drink of the well of Beth-lehem, which is by the gate!

New King James Version
And David said with longing, "Oh, that someone would give me a drink of the water from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!"

New Living Translation
David remarked longingly to his men, "Oh, how I would love some of that good water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem."

New Revised Standard
David said longingly, "O that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And David longed, and said, - Who will give me to drink water out of the well of Bethlehem, that is within the gate?

Douay-Rheims Bible
And David longed, and said: O that some man would get me a drink of the water out of the cistern, that is in Bethlehem, by the gate.

Revised Standard Version
And David said longingly, "O that some one would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem which is by the gate!"

New American Standard Bible (1995)
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!"

Contextual Overview

⁸ These are the names of David's men of war. There was Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite, head of the three. He was called Adino the Eznite, because he had killed 800 men at one time. ⁹ Next to him among the three strong men was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite. He was with David when they spoke against the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel had left. ¹⁰ Eleazar got up and killed the Philistines until his hand was tired from holding the sword. The Lord saved many of His people that day. The men returned after him only to take what had belonged to the dead. ¹¹ Next to him was Shammah the son of Agee a Hararite. The Philistines were gathered together at Lehi, where there was a piece of ground full of lentil plants. The people ran from the Philistines. ¹² But Shammah stood in the center of the piece of ground and fought for it. He killed the Philistines. The Lord saved many of His people that day. ¹³ Then three of the thirty leaders went down to David during the gathering time to the cave of Adullam. The Philistine army was staying in the valley of Rephaim. ¹⁴ David was in the strong place, while the Philistine soldiers were in Bethlehem. ¹⁵ David had a desire and said, "If only someone would give me water to drink from the well by the gate of Bethlehem!" ¹⁶ So the three strong men broke through the Philistine army and took water from the well by the gate of Bethlehem. They brought it to David. But David would not drink it. He poured it out to the Lord, ¹⁷ and said, "O Lord, far be it from me to do this. Should I drink the blood of the men who went and put their lives in danger?" So he would not drink it. The three strong men did these things.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

longed: Numbers 11:4, Numbers 11:5, Psalms 42:1, Psalms 42:2, Psalms 63:1, Psalms 119:81, Isaiah 41:17, Isaiah 44:3, John 4:10, John 4:14, John 7:37

Bethlehem: Bethlehem signifies the "house of bread," and the place was likewise noted for excellent water. There Christ was born, who is the "bread of life," and who also gives us the "water of life." "The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." John 4:14

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 12:20 - I will Joshua 19:15 - Bethlehem 1 Kings 21:16 - Ahab rose up 1 Chronicles 11:17 - longed Proverbs 25:25 - cold John 4:7 - Give Romans 1:11 - I long

Cross-References

Exodus 30:13
Every one who is numbered will give one piece of silver, by the weight decided upon for the holy place. One piece of silver will be a gift to the Lord.

Exodus 30:15
The rich will not pay more and the poor will not pay less than one piece of silver. It will be a gift to the Lord so you will be forgiven of sin.

Ezekiel 45:12
The silver piece of money must be worth the same as twenty small silver pieces. And sixty silver pieces of money must be worth the same as the heavy silver weight.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And David longed, and said,.... It being harvest time, the summer season, and hot weather, and he thirsty:

oh, that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem,

which [is] by the gate! which he was well acquainted with, being his native place; and which might make it the more desirable, as well as its waters might be peculiarly cool and refreshing, and very excellent, as Kimchi suggests. This well was about a mile from Bethlehem, now called David's well, as some travellers say y. It is said to be a very large well, with three mouths, and lies a little out of the road z; and that there is now near Rachel's grave a good rich cistern, which is deep and wide; wherefore the people that go to dip water are provided with small leathern buckets, and a line, as usual in those countries a; but Mr. Maundrell b says it is a well, or rather a cistern, supplied only with rain, without any excellency in its waters to make them desirable; but it seems, he adds, David's spirit had a further aim. Some think he meant by this to get Bethlehem out of the hands of the Philistines, and obtain the possession of it; others, as Jarchi, that he intended to ask some question of the sanhedrim that sat there; and others, that his desire was after the law of God, called waters, as in Isaiah 55:1; and some Christian writers, both ancient and modern c, are of opinion, that not literal but spiritual water was desired by him, and that he thirsted after the coming of the Messiah, to be born at Bethlehem, and the living water which he only can give, John 4:10.

y Egmont and Heyman's Travels, vol. 1. p. 363. z Le Bruyn's Voyage to the Levant, ch. 52. p. 204. a Rauwolff's Travels, part 3. p. 317, 318. b Journey from Aleppo, &c. p. 90. c Ambros. Apolog. David l. 1. c. 7. gloss. ordinar. & Schmidt in loc. Pfeiffer. Difficil. Loc. Script. cent. 2. loc. 91. Horn. Dissert. de desiderio David. sect. 10.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A cistern of deep, clear, cool water, is called by the monks, David’s Well, about three-quarters of a mile to the north of Bethlehem. Possibly the old well has been filled up since the town was supplied with water by the aqueduct.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Samuel 23:15. The water of the well of Bethlehem — This was David's city, and he knew the excellence of the water which was there; and being near the place, and parched with thirst, it was natural for him to wish for a draught of water out of that well. These three heroes having heard it, though they received no command from David, broke through a company of the Philistines, and brought away some of the water. When brought to David he refused to drink it: for as the men got it at the hazard of their lives, he considered it as their blood, and gave thereby a noble instance of self-denial. There is no evidence that David had requested them to bring it; they had gone for it of their own accord, and without the knowledge of David.