The image then narrows from movement to speech. The enemies’ talk “spews” out—uncontrolled and aggressive—and their words are compared to “swords,” meaning their speech is meant to cut, wound, and intimidate. The closing line (“who hears us?”) shows their confidence that they can threaten or slander without consequences.

Where interpretation differs (only where needed)

1) Is “they return at evening” a description or a wish? Some read it as reporting what happens night after night (their harassment keeps coming back). Others take it as the speaker’s wording that effectively calls for the enemies to be sent back again and again in frustration, which fits how later lines in the psalm reuse the “return” language.

2) What does “who hears us?” mean? Some take it mainly as “no witnesses are around,” stressing secrecy and the cover of darkness. Others take it as “no authority will act,” stressing arrogance that no one—human or divine—will hold them accountable.

Why the disagreement exists

The wording can naturally be read either as a straightforward description (“they come back every evening”) or as a line that can function like a wish (“let them keep returning”) depending on how one hears the verb. Also, “who hears?” can point either to the lack of human listeners at night or to a broader belief that no one who matters will respond.

What this passage clearly contributes

Explicitly, the text claims (1) repeated nighttime harassment, (2) enemies compared to loud, prowling dogs, (3) city-wide searching, and (4) weapon-like speech that spills out recklessly and assumes safety from exposure. Theological inference built from those claims is that the psalm treats harmful speech as real violence and views secrecy-driven intimidation as a moral problem, not merely a social annoyance—especially when perpetrators act as if they are beyond oversight (compare the broader biblical theme that God hears hidden speech, e.g., Psalm 139:4).

swords (ḥă·rā·ḇō·wṯ)