Here is a reminder of one "lesson" about older English:
"To smite" means "to hit" (or punch, or slap, or strike). This word can be used for serious hitting, even killing someone; but it can also mean something NOT so serious, like if you just bang your fist on a table top while talking.
In old times when everyone knew this word, they did NOT usually use it to mean something hitting a target from far away, like a bullet. It would be more like if two men were sword-fighting, and one man made a hit on the other with his sword.