Charles Ellicott Commentary Psalms 107:3

"And gathered out of the lands, From the east and from the west, From the north and from the south." — Psalms 107:3 (ASV)

Gathered them. —The usual prophetic word for the Restoration. (See references in the margin, and compare this verse with Isaiah 49:12.)

From the south. —See margin. The sea here can hardly be any sea but the Mediterranean, and therefore should, according to general use (see Genesis 12:8, etc.), stand for the west. But as this makes the enumeration of the points of the compass imperfect, several emendations have been proposed, the best of which is yamin (the “right hand,” and so “south”) for yam.

Or is the text right, and instead of looking for a complete compass, should we connect this general statement with the four tableaux of misery vividly depicted, and so take out of the sea literally in reference to Psalms 107:23-30?