Psalms 59:11

Do not strike them dead suddenly, because then my people might forget the lesson. ¹  Use your power to make them homeless vagabonds and then bring them down, O Lord who shields us! ² 

Ge 4:12-15; Le 26:33; De 4:27; De 28:64; De 30:3,4; Jud 1:6,7; Job 40:12; Ps 3:3; Ps 44:11; Ps 52:5; Ps 84:11; Ec 9:5; Eze 12:15,16; Eze 12:15; Eze 14:22,23; Lu 1:51,52; Lu 21:21; Re 9:6

¹ tn Heb “do not kill them, lest my people forget.”

sn My people might forget the lesson. Swift, sudden destruction might be quickly forgotten. The psalmist wants God’s judgment to be prolonged so that it might be a continual reminder of divine justice.

² tn Heb “make them roam around by your strength and bring them down, O our shield, the Lord.”