9 Say: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: It prospereth—its roots doth he not draw out, And its fruit cut off, and it is withered? 'In' all the leaves of its springing it withereth, And not by great strength, and by a numerous people, To lift it up by its roots.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Ezekiel 17:9
Commentary on Ezekiel 17:1-10
(Read Ezekiel 17:1-10)
Mighty conquerors are aptly likened to birds or beasts of prey, but their destructive passions are overruled to forward God's designs. Those who depart from God, only vary their crimes by changing one carnal confidence for another, and never will prosper.