I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts;

ISAIAH 65:2KJV
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Isaiah 65:2 (KJV)

What does Isaiah 65:2 mean?

Isaiah 65:2 presents God as reaching out to a people who continue to resist him. God’s open-handed appeal lasts throughout the day, while the people choose a path guided by their own thoughts rather than one God calls good.

The outstretched hands picture a personal appeal, not a distant announcement. God is the speaker, and the people being addressed belong to the same community described in the surrounding passage.

The Hebrew behind Isaiah 65:2

  • “spread out” — פָּרַשׂ (paras): This word can mean to stretch out or spread open. Here, the movement makes the image of God’s hands visible, like a gesture made toward someone.
  • “rebellious” — סָרַר (sarar): This word carries the sense of being stubborn or resistant. It describes the people’s settled posture toward the one reaching out to them.
  • “thoughts” — מַחֲשָׁבָה (machashavah): This word can refer to plans or purposes as well as thoughts. The people’s chosen direction follows what they have devised for themselves.

Why Isaiah 65:2 matters

  • The verse emphasizes persistence on both sides. “All the day” describes the length of God’s appeal, while “walketh” portrays the people’s conduct as an ongoing way of life.
  • The “way that was not good” has a particular shape in the verses that follow. Isaiah 65:3–4 gives examples of practices by which the people provoke God, including making offerings in gardens and eating forbidden food.

Where else these words appear

“rebellious” Hebrew H5637 · used in 16 verses

  • Deuteronomy 21:18 If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them:
  • Psalms 68:18 Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them.
  • Jeremiah 5:23 But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone.

“thoughts” Hebrew H4284 · used in 52 verses

  • Genesis 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
  • Psalms 40:5 Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.
  • Jeremiah 4:14 O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?

“out” Hebrew H6566 · used in 66 verses

  • Exodus 9:29 And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the LORD; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the LORD'S.
  • 2 Kings 8:15 And it came to pass on the morrow, that he took a thick cloth, and dipped it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died: and Hazael reigned in his stead.
  • Isaiah 25:11 And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim: and he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands.