Bible Strands
Psalms 48:5
They saw and were astounded; they fled in terror.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses the community of Jerusalem at the moment assembled kings advanced against the city, recording their immediate reaction when confronting divine protection. The words — רָ֭אוּ (Ra.'u) means they saw, and תָּמָ֑הוּ (ta.Ma.hu) means they were astonished, describing the sudden psychological collapse of the opposing army. The thread — This pattern of sudden enemy panic appears in Exodus 14:25, 2 Kings 7:6, and 2 Kings 19:35, where divine action consistently triggers flight and disarray among hostile forces. Why it lands — The text demands recognition that human military alliances cannot withstand divine intervention, requiring the reader to abandon reliance on political or military power alone.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
They saw it, and so they marvelled; they were troubled, and hasted away.
Cross-references
- Exodus 14:25 He caused their chariot wheels to wobble, so that they had difficulty driving. “Let us flee from the Israelites,” said the Egyptians, “for the LORD is fighting for them against Egypt!”
- 2 Kings 7:6 For the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots, horses, and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel must have hired the kings of the Hittites and Egyptians to attack us.”
- 2 Kings 19:35 And that very night the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the dead bodies!