And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy.
Ver. 20. Far be it, far be it from me.] He utterly disclaimeth and disavoweth all such bloodthirstiness as wherewith she chargeth him. He affected not the title of Poliorcetes or city-destroyer: but rather of Euergetes, a preserver of his country, a general benefactor.