The psalmist prays God to deliver him from his enemies. The language used is that of the law court (see the same terms, “vindicate” and “my cause,” used in 35.23-24). From the text itself one cannot decide whether the language is to be taken literally or is conventional, that is, a way of asking God to help him against his enemies who torment him with their taunts (42.3, 10). The latter seems more probable.

The text does not make clear whether the ungodly people are Gentiles or faithless Jews. The phrase is literally “a people not-godly” (see “godly” in 4.3). The Hebrew goy (meaning “people”) is a collective noun and often means “a nation” (so one possibility is “a disloyal nation”; Dahood “an ungodly nation”; New English Bible “an impious race”; Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “this pagan people”). Bible en français courant, however, has “people who have no pity” (so Briggs “unkind nations”). In the context of the whole psalm (Psa 42–43) it seems more likely that pagan Gentiles are meant, who are further characterized as deceitful and unjust, that is “treacherous and dishonest” (New Jerusalem Bible) or “liars and evildoers” (Bible en français courant). The expression ungodly people may often be translated “people who do not worship God.” For deliver see the same verb in 17.13.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .