But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.
But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors be rooted out of it. Metaphor from trees. They shall not only be cut off by the axe, but plucked up by the roots (Matthew 15:13, "Every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up").