(19) Shall I drink the blood of these men?--Literally, the blood of these men should I drink in their lives (souls)?

Their lives appears to be spurious here, as it occurs again immediately, and is read only once in Samuel. David regards the water as blood: it had been obtained at the hazard of life, and "the life is the blood" (Genesis 9:4). The question in Samuel runs: "The blood of the men who went in (= at the risk of) their lives?" The verb seems to have fallen out by accident.

For with the jeopardy of their lives they brought it.--Literally, in their lives. This remark is not found in Samuel, and looks like an explanation of the words, "shall I drink the blood of these men?"

These things did these three mightiest.--Rather, these things did the three mighty men (or, warriors). The Hebrew text of this narrative presents only a few verbal differences from 2Samuel 23:13-17.

Verse 19. - My God forbid it me. Compare the Hebrew of this with that of the expression in the parallel (2 Samuel 23:17), where יְהוָה is found in the place of our מֵךאלֹהַי. It is probable that the preposition nieni is lost from before "Jehovah." Shall I drink the blood, etc.? i.e. the water which has been obtained at the imminent peril of the life of these three brave men (comp. Genesis 4:10, 11; Genesis 9:4-6; John 6:53, 54).

11:10-47 An account is given of David's worthies, the great men who served him. Yet David reckoned his success, not as from the mighty men that were with him, but from the mighty God, whose presence is all in all. In strengthening him, they strengthened themselves and their own interest, for his advancement was theirs. We shall gain by what we do in our places for the support of the kingdom of the Son of David; and those that are faithful to Him, shall find their names registered much more to their honour, than these are in the records of fame.And inquired not of the Lord,.... For though he did inquire in some sense in an external, careless, and hypocritical manner, yet not done seriously, sincerely, and heartily, nor with constancy; it was accounted as if he inquired not at all, 1 Samuel 28:6 the Targum adds another reason of his death, because he killed the priests of Nob; but that is not in the text:

therefore he slew him; or suffered him to be slain:

and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse; translated the kingdom of Israel out of Saul's family, upon his death, into Jesse's, even unto David; for the sake of which observation this short account is given of the last end of Saul.