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.