Mazmur 59:11-12

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 

59:12 They speak sinful words. ³ 

So let them be trapped by their own pride

and by the curses and lies they speak!

[59:11]  ¹ tn Heb “do not kill them, lest my people forget.”

[59:11]  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.

[59:11]  ² tn Heb “make them roam around by your strength and bring them down, O our shield, the Lord.”

[59:12]  ³ tn Heb “the sin of their mouth [is] the word of their lips.”