Psalm 64

The whole psalm is built out of hunting and warfare gear. They sharpen the tongue like a sword. They bend the bow to shoot bitter words. Composite bows of horn, wood, and sinew were the serious weapon of the age, and a bowman's advantage was that he shot from cover at a man who never saw him — which is exactly the psalm's complaint about the rumours.

Laying snares in secret is fowling. Bird catchers set a net on a light frame, propped it with a stick, baited the ground, and pulled a cord from a hide. Pits for larger game were dug on trails and covered over. Both worked because the animal could not see the trap until it was in it.

There was a reason enemies used gossip instead of court. Israelite law required two witnesses for an accusation, and a witness proved false received the penalty he had tried to impose. That made a formal charge risky. A whisper campaign carried no such risk and left the victim nothing to answer.

The reversal at the centre of the psalm uses the same weapons: their own tongue falls on them, and God's arrow finds them suddenly. The ambusher gets ambushed.