Charles Ellicott Commentary Ezekiel 17:9

"Say thou, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it may wither; that all its fresh springing leaves may wither? and not by a strong arm or much people can it be raised from the roots thereof." — Ezekiel 17:9 (ASV)

Of her spring. —Our translators probably intended by this word, as they evidently did in Psalms 65:10, her springing forth, her growth; but it would be better now to substitute the word growth,

Pluck it up by the roots. —The word here is a different one from the pull up in the earlier part of the verse, and has rather the sense of “raise up from the roots.” The whole clause would be better translated, “not even with great power and many people is it to be raised up from its roots again.” The meaning is explained in Ezekiel 17:17, that the strength of Pharaoh would be utterly insufficient to restore the people whom God had blighted.