Charles Ellicott Commentary Psalms 142:7

"Bring my soul out of prison, That I may give thanks unto thy name: The righteous shall compass me about; For thou wilt deal bountifully with me." — Psalms 142:7 (ASV)

Out of prison.—This expression, which must certainly be figurative of distress , probably led to the inscription.

Compass me about.—The Hebrew word here employed is used in a hostile sense in Psalms 22:12; Judges 20:43; Habakkuk 1:4. It is better, therefore, to follow the Septuagint and render:

“In my case the righteous are waiting
Till,” etc.

This sense “waiting for,” besides being favoured by the construction, suits well the passage, Proverbs 14:18.

“The simple inherit folly,
But the prudent wait for knowledge,” and is Aquila’s rendering there of the word as it is here.