Shared ground

These lines present a sharp reversal: the people who were attacking with “arrows” of speech are themselves “shot” by God. The poem’s point is not mainly about weapons, but about a conflict that flips direction when God acts.

The text explicitly claims that God intervenes, that the outcome is sudden, and that the attackers’ own “tongue” becomes the means of their downfall. It also explicitly claims this reversal becomes public enough that onlookers react visibly (“shake their heads”).

Where interpretation differs (only where needed)

How literal is the “arrow”? Some read the “arrow” as a poetic picture for God’s judgment (God decisively ends their scheme). Others allow that the image could include concrete disaster (real harm, ruin, or death), while still functioning as poetry.

What does “their tongue” mean? Some take it as their slander and threats backfiring—what they said rebounds on them. Others think it may include exposure: their words, plans, or testimony become known and are used against them.

What does head-shaking communicate? Many see it as scorn or contempt toward the plotters. Others hear a more sober response: astonishment and recognition that the schemers “brought it on themselves.”

Why the disagreement exists The passage uses compressed poetic images (shooting/arrow/tongue/head-shaking) without specifying the exact mechanism. That leaves room to ask how directly each image maps onto real events, and whether “tongue” refers more to malicious speech itself or to the disclosure of their speech.

What this passage clearly contributes It portrays God as able to interrupt hidden harm suddenly and decisively. It also highlights an ironic moral logic: harmful speech is unstable and can become self-destructive (their “tongue” turns against them). Finally, it treats this reversal as publicly legible—others can see an outcome that exposes the attackers’ failure and prompts a communal reaction (Psalm 64:7–8).