2 Nephi 19:12, 17, 21; 20:4

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Reference Search: 2 Nephi 19:12, 17, 21; 20:4

12 The Syrians before and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

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17 Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and windows; for every one of them is a hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

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21 Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh; they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still

4 Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

Quotes for Discussion

His Hand Is Stretched Out Still

Before we leave this prophetic poem (19:8-20:4) it should be pointed out that the last clause of the four refrains (19:12, 17, 21; 20:4), “but his hand is stretched out still,” is usually interpreted to mean that God’s wrath against his people is unappeasable, that Isaiah has no word of hope for his people, still stretched out still to strike.” I may be wrong, but I feel that Isaiah was by no means completely a prophet of doom, that he still held out to his people a note of encouragement intended to bring about their repentance (cf. Isa. 1:16-20). Let me express it this way: “But his hand is stretched out still if only you but change your ways.”

Sidney B. Sperry, Book of Mormon Compendium [salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1968], 213

His grasp is galactic.

Neal A. Maxwell, Ensign, May 1976, 26

Our merciful and long-suffering Lord is ever ready to help. His “arm is lengthened out all the day long” (2 Ne. 28:32), and even if His arm goes ungrasped, it was unarguably there! In the same redemptive reaching out, our desiring to improve our human relationships usually requires some long-suffering. Sometimes reaching out is like trying to pat a porcupine. Even so, the accumulated quill marks are evidence that our hands of fellowship have been stretched out, too!

Neal A. Maxwell, Ensign, Nov. 1996, 22

Isaiah frequently used an interesting phrase when discussing Judah’s sins and God’s continued acts of judgment against her: “For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still” (Isa. 5:25; 9:12, 17, 21; 10:4). Despite repeated punishments, Isaiah’s people refused to repent. This reminds us of the words of Amos, Isaiah’s contemporary, when he repeated after a whole series of devastating experiences, “Yet have ye not returned unto me” (Amos 4:6, 8, 11). These phrases imply that God uses judgments as chastening tools to accomplish his divine purpose. As Mormon wrote, “And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions, yea, except he doth visit them with death and with terror, and with famine and with all manner of pestilence, they will not remember him” (Hel. 12:3).

Keith A. Meservy, Studies in Scripture, Vol. 4, Ed. Kent P. Jackson [salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1993], 99