Tafsir of Al-Mursalat 77:17

"Then We will follow them with the others": This is in the nominative case (raf') as a new beginning (isti'naf). It is a threat to the people of Mecca and an informing of what would occur after the Migration, such as [the Battle of] Badr. It is as if it were said: "Then We will do to those like them among the others the same as what We did to the former ones, and We will make them follow their path," because they denied just as they [the former ones] denied. This is supported by the recitation of Abdullah [ibn Mas'ud]: "Then We will surely follow them" (thumma sanaṭba'uhum) with a sin for the future.

It is permissible to consider it a conjunction to the words of the Exalted, "Did We not destroy..." and so on. Al-A'raj and Al-'Abbas, from Abu 'Amr, recited it as natba'hum with the 'ayn supressed (vowelless). This is interpreted as being in the jussive mood (jazm) and conjoined to "did We not destroy" (nuhlik). In this case, "the others" refers to those who were destroyed later among those mentioned, such as the people of Lot, Shu'ayb, and Moses, peace be upon them, rather than the disbelievers of Mecca, for they had not yet been destroyed at that time; the conjunction to "did We not destroy" necessitates this. It is also permitted that it was made vowelless for the sake of lightness, as in [the verse] "And what will make you realize." This is as the meaning of the nominative case in the recitation of the majority, except that the damma is implicit.