2 Samuel 20:20

20 Joab protested: "Never! I do not want to destroy!

2 Samuel 20:20 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 20:20

And Joab answered and said, far be it from me, far be it from
me
He repeats these words, to show how detestable it was to him to do what she suggested:

that I should swallow up or destroy;
any in a violent and unrighteous manner, and especially a city of which she had given such a character for its greatness and worth, and for the peaceableness and fidelity of its inhabitants.

2 Samuel 20:20 In-Context

18 She said, "In the past they used to say, 'Seek counsel in Abel,' and that's how they settled [disputes].

19 I am a peaceful person, one of the faithful in Israel, but you're trying to destroy a city that is like a mother in Israel. Why would you devour the Lord's inheritance?"

20 Joab protested: "Never! I do not want to destroy!

21 That is not [my] intention. There is a man named Sheba son of Bichri, from the hill country of Ephraim, who has rebelled against King David. Deliver this one man, and I will withdraw from the city." The woman replied to Joab, "All right. His head will be thrown over the wall to you."

22 The woman went to all the people with her wise counsel, and they cut off the head of Sheba son of Bichri and threw it to Joab. So he blew the ram's horn, and they dispersed from the city, each to his own tent. Joab returned to the king in Jerusalem.