Psa 48:5-6 | NET2full | STEP | As soon as they see , they are shocked ; they are terrified , they quickly retreat .

‏ Psalms 48:5-6

5 As soon as they see, ^{▼▼tn The object of “see” is omitted, but v. 3b suggests that the Lord’s self-revelation as the city’s defender is what they see.} they are shocked; ^{▼▼tn Heb “they look, so they are shocked.” Here כֵּן (ken, “so”) has the force of “in the same measure.”}
they are terrified, they quickly retreat. ^{▼▼tn The translation attempts to reflect the staccato style of the Hebrew text, where the main clauses of vv. 4-6 are simply juxtaposed without connectives.}
6 Look at them shake uncontrollably, ^{▼▼tn Heb “trembling seizes them there.” The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) is used here, as often in poetic texts, to point “to a spot in which a scene is localized vividly in the imagination” (BDB 1027 s.v.).}
like a woman writhing in childbirth. ^{▼▼tn Heb “[with] writhing like one giving birth.”} ^{▼▼sn The language of vv. 5-6 is reminiscent of Exod 15:15.}