Here "sword" represents enemies carrying weapons. AT: "enemy soldiers were killing some of us and some of us were dying of hunger" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy]])
# was it against our husbands that we did these things ... to her?
The women were claiming to be innocent because their husband approved of what they were doing. AT: "our husbands knew what we were doing ... to her." (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion]])