1 Thessalonians 2:15
What does 1 Thessalonians 2:15 mean?
A plain-English look at 1 Thessalonians 2:15 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What 1 Thessalonians 2:15 means
Paul characterizes the persecutors as those “who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove out us,” acting in ways that “please not God” and oppose all by hindering the Gospel. He is speaking of hostile opponents, not every Jew. Their actions continue a tragic pattern of rejecting God’s messengers, culminating in the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. Such opposition is not morally neutral; it stands contrary to God’s pleasure and the good of humanity, since the Gospel brings salvation. By linking these deeds, Paul underscores the seriousness of resisting God’s redemptive work and persecuting those who carry His message.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove out us, and please not God, and are contrary to all men;
KJV
King James Version · 1611Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men:
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove out us, and please not God, and are contrary to all men;
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Who put to death the Lord Jesus and the prophets, violently driving us out; who are unpleasing to God and against all men;
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862who did both put to death the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and did persecute us, and God they are not pleasing, and to all men <FI>are<Fi> contrary,
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and the prophets, and have persecuted us, and please not God, and are adversaries to all men;
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890who have both slain the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and have driven us out by persecution, and do not pleaseGod, and [are] against all men,
Context
Extending the comparison in verse 14, Paul details the nature of the opposition: it shares continuity with the rejection of prophets and the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. Verse 15 deepens the moral assessment of such hostility, preparing for verse 16’s statement about judgment. The flow clarifies that the Thessalonians’ suffering participates in a long history of resistance to God’s saving purposes, which God will ultimately address.
v.14For ye, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judæa in Christ Jesus: for ye also suffered the same things of your own countrymen, even as they did of the Jews;
v.15This passage
v.16forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved; to fill up their sins always: but the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Acts 22:18
and saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem; because they will not receive of thee testimony concerning me.
- Acts 2:23
him, being delivered up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye by the hand of lawless men did crucify and slay:
- Luke 13:33
Nevertheless I must go on my way to-day and to-morrow and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.
- Amos 7:12
Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thou away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there:
- Matthew 27:25
And all the people answered and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.
- Luke 11:48
So ye are witnesses and consent unto the works of your fathers: for they killed them, and ye build their tombs.
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