1 Thessalonians 2:15

KJV

Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men:

— 1 Thessalonians 2:15, King James Version
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1 Thessalonians 2:15 (King James Version).

"1 Thessalonians 2:15." King James Version. Web.

1 Thessalonians 2:15, King James Version.

Study Note

Study Note

Paul's characterization of the Judaean persecutors as those 'who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind' has been a contested passage in Jewish-Christian relations, sometimes cited in anti-Semitic polemic. Responsible interpretation requires recognizing that Paul is speaking of specific individuals, not the Jewish people as a whole, and that he himself is Jewish and expresses anguish over Israel's condition in Romans 9:1-5 and 11:1-2. The language echoes the deuteronomistic tradition of Israel's rejection of the prophets (Nehemiah 9:26; Matthew 23:34) rather than inaugurating a new ethnic condemnation. The verse's inclusion of 'opposing all mankind' may reflect the specific opposition to Paul's Gentile mission, contextualizing the charge within salvation-historical terms rather than ethnic ones.

Other Translations

ASV

who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove out us, and please not God, and are contrary to all men;

YLT

who 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,

BBE

Who put to death the Lord Jesus and the prophets, violently driving us out; who are unpleasing to God and against all men;

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