Charles Ellicott Commentary 2 Samuel 23:17

"And he said, Be it far from me, O Jehovah, that I should do this: [shall I drink] the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? therefore he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men." — 2 Samuel 23:17 (ASV)

Is not this the blood ...? —The Hebrew here is simply an interrogative exclamation, the blood of the men? but in 1 Chronicles 11:19 the text reads, Shall I drink the blood of these men? etc., and so the Septuagint and Vulgate translate here. To David the water gained only at the risk of life, seemed the very blood in which the life resides (Leviticus 17:10–11).

These three. —Rather, the three.