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Psalm 59:11
Don’t kill them, or my people may forget. Scatter them by your power, and bring them down, Lord our shield.
9Oh, my Strength, I watch for you, for God is my high tower.
10My God will go before me with his loving kindness. God will let me look at my enemies in triumph.
11Don’t kill them, or my people may forget. Scatter them by your power, and bring them down, Lord our shield.
12For the sin of their mouth, and the words of their lips, let them be caught in their pride, for the curses and lies which they utter.
13Consume them in wrath. Consume them, and they will be no more. Let them know that God rules in Jacob, to the ends of the earth. Selah.
Notice
“Don’t kill them” opens a severe prayer for enemies to be scattered and brought down, with the unsettling concern that people might forget if those enemies die.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What troubles you about the link between keeping enemies alive and keeping memory alive?
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Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Psalm 18:2The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower.Both prayers name God as a shield, looking to him for protection against danger.
Psalm 68:1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. A song. Let God arise! Let his enemies be scattered! Let them who hate him also flee before him.Both ask God to scatter enemies, placing the power to overcome them in his hands.
Psalm 3:3But you, LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, and the one who lifts up my head.Both address the Lord as a shield, naming his protection within a personal prayer.
Deuteronomy 28:64The LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth. There you will serve other gods which you have not known, …Both speak of the Lord scattering people, though the psalm petitions against enemies and Deuteronomy warns its own hearers.
Luke 1:51–52He has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.Both link scattering with God's strength: the psalm asks him to act, while Luke declares that he has acted.
Deuteronomy 4:27The LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD will lead you away.Both describe scattering by the Lord's power, though Deuteronomy warns its hearers of the displacement the psalm seeks for enemies.
Revelation 9:6In those days people will seek death, and will in no way find it. They will desire to die, and death will flee from them.Both speak of death being withheld, though only the psalm connects that withholding with the danger of forgetting.
Psalm 59:13Consume them in wrath. Consume them, and they will be no more. Let them know that God rules in Jacob, to the ends of the earth. Selah.Both seek God's judgment on enemies, but verse 11 asks that they live while verse 13 asks that they be consumed.
Judges 1:6–7The limited link is an enemy's downfall: the psalm asks God to act, while Judges records capture and mutilation by people.
Job 40:12Look at everyone who is proud, and humble him. Crush the wicked in their place.Both speak of bringing people down; the psalm appeals to the Lord, while Job's verse names the proud and wicked.
Leviticus 26:33I will scatter you among the nations, and I will draw out the sword after you. Your land will be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste.Both name scattering as divine judgment, though Leviticus warns its hearers and the psalm asks for judgment against enemies.
Luke 21:21Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let those who are in the middle of her depart. Let those who are in the country not enter therein.The limited link is displacement: the psalm asks God to scatter enemies, while Luke directs people in Judea to flee.
Where this verse fits
Injustice and anger. fear for the future.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
These words ask God to bring enemies down; they give no command to harm someone. The prayer rests on the Lord's power and names him as a shield.
Now put it in your words.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).