DAVID IN THE CAVE OF ADULLAM VIII

 

David and his three captains bold

Kept ambush¹ once within a hold.

It was in Adullam’s cave

Nigh which no water they could have.

Nor spring, nor running brook², was near

To quench³ the thirst that parch’d them there.

Then David, King of Israel,

Straight bethought him of a well

Which stood beside the city gate

At Bethlem; where, before his state

Of kingly dignity, he had

Oft drunk his fill, a shepherd lad;

But now his fierce Philistine⁴ foe⁵

Encamp’d before it he does know.

Yet ne’ertheless, with heat oppress’d,

Those three bold captains he address’d,

And wish’d that one to him would bring

Some water from his native spring.

His valiant⁶ captains instantly

To execute his will did fly.

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Those three brave men the ranks broke through

Of armed foes⁷, and water drew

For David, their beloved king,

At his own sweet native spring.

Back through their enemies they haste,

With the hard-earn’d treasure graced.

What with such danger they had sought

With joy unto their king they brought.

But when the good king David found

What they had done, he on the ground

The water pour’d, “Because,” said he,

“That it was at the jeopardy⁸

Of your three lives this thing ye did,

That I should drink it God forbid!”

1 ambush   

n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击

参考例句：

• Our soldiers lay in ambush in the jungle for the enemy.我方战士埋伏在丛林中等待敌人。
• Four men led by a sergeant lay in ambush at the crossroads.由一名中士率领的四名士兵埋伏在十字路口。

2 brook   

n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让

参考例句：

• In our room we could hear the murmur of a distant brook.在我们房间能听到远处小溪汩汩的流水声。
• The brook trickled through the valley.小溪涓涓流过峡谷。

3 quench   

vt.熄灭，扑灭；压制

参考例句：

• The firemen were unable to quench the fire.消防人员无法扑灭这场大火。
• Having a bottle of soft drink is not enough to quench my thirst.喝一瓶汽水不够解渴。

4 philistine   

n.庸俗的人；adj.市侩的，庸俗的

参考例句：

• I believe he seriously thinks me an awful Philistine.我相信，他真的认为我是个不可救药的庸人。
• Do you know what a philistine is,jim?吉姆，知道什么是庸俗吗?

5 foe   

n.敌人，仇敌

参考例句：

• He knew that Karl could be an implacable foe.他明白卡尔可能会成为他的死敌。
• A friend is a friend;a foe is a foe;one must be clearly distinguished from the other.敌是敌，友是友，必须分清界限。

6 valiant   

adj.勇敢的，英勇的；n.勇士，勇敢的人

参考例句：

• He had the fame of being very valiant.他的勇敢是出名的。
• Despite valiant efforts by the finance minister,inflation rose to 36%.尽管财政部部长采取了一系列果决措施，通货膨胀率还是涨到了36%。

7 foes   

敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They steadily pushed their foes before them. 他们不停地追击敌人。
• She had fought many battles, vanquished many foes. 她身经百战，挫败过很多对手。

8 jeopardy   

n.危险；危难

参考例句：

• His foolish behaviour may put his whole future in jeopardy.他愚蠢的行为可能毁了他一生的前程。
• It is precisely at this juncture that the boss finds himself in double jeopardy.恰恰在这个关键时刻，上司发现自己处于进退两难的境地。