Charles Ellicott Commentary Psalms 59:11

"Slay them not, lest my people forget: Scatter them by thy power, and bring them down, O Lord our shield." — Psalms 59:11 (ASV)

Slay them not, lest my people forget ... — The Spartans refused to allow the destruction of a neighbouring city, which had often called forth their armies, saying, “Destroy not the whetstone of our young men.” Timon, in the play, is made to say—

“Live loathed and long
You smiling smooth detested parasites,”

that the ruin of Athens might be complete, if deferred. National feeling, too, has often insisted on extreme modes of punishment, partly from vindictive feeling, partly for deterrent purposes. Witness the sequel to the Indian mutiny. But where is the parallel to the feeling that seems uppermost in the Psalmist’s mind, namely, a wish for protracted retribution on the nations for the moral benefit of Israel?

Scatter them. — Better, make them wander: a word applied to Cain and to the Israelite wanderings in the wilderness.