Three Warriors Risk Death to Fetch David Water He Then Pours on the Ground

David is hiding from the Philistines, who have a garrison in Bethlehem. He says aloud that he longs for water from the well at the city gate. Three of his mighty men hear him, break through the Philistine lines, draw water from the well, and bring it back — having risked their lives for a careless wish. When David sees it, he refuses to drink it. He pours it out before the Lord: 'Far be it from me before my God that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of these men who went at the risk of their lives?' The water becomes an offering. What was fetched with blood cannot be swallowed.