Charles Ellicott Commentary Ezekiel 17:5

"He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful soil; he placed it beside many waters; he set it as a willow-tree." — Ezekiel 17:5 (ASV)

Of the seed of the land. —In place of the captive Jehoiachin, Nebuchadnezzar did not set over the land an eastern satrap, but appointed a native prince, Zedekiah, the uncle of Jehoiachin. He was planted, not like the tall cedar on the mountain, but still like a willow tree by great waters where it might flourish in its own measure .