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1 Thessalonians 2:16

ESV by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved — so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last!
NIV in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.
NASB hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved; with the result that they always reach the limit of their sins. But wrath has come upon them fully.
CSB by keeping us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. As a result, they are constantly filling up their sins to the limit, and wrath has overtaken them at last.
NLT as they try to keep us from preaching the Good News of salvation to the Gentiles. By doing this, they continue to pile up their sins. But the anger of God has caught up with them at last.
KJV Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.
NKJV forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, so as always to fill up the measure of their sins; but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost.

What does 1 Thessalonians 2:16 mean?

The persecutors of the Thessalonian Christians had stood in the way of Paul's outreach to the Gentiles. By doing so, they were curtailing Paul's ability to give others an opportunity to be saved (Matthew 18:6). They were piling up sins upon sins and bringing God's wrath upon them. Paul's reference to God's wrath may point to God's turning from the Jews in order to draw the Gentiles to Himself.

In the early history of the church the Christians focused primarily on reaching Jews with the gospel. In Romans 1:16 Paul referred to this priority by stating, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." When a disorderly crowd of Jews in Antioch in Pisidia rejected the gospel message that Paul and Barnabas preached, the two missionaries announced: "It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles" (Acts 13:46).
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