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Verse

Romans 15:5

ESV May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus,
NIV May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had,
NASB Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another, according to Christ Jesus,
CSB Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, according to Christ Jesus,
NLT May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus.
KJV Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:
NKJV Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus,

What does Romans 15:5 mean?

Here, Paul transitions back to the main point he has been teaching since the beginning of chapter 14. In the previous verse, he wrote that the Scriptures written in former days are intended to be a source of encouragement and hope for modern Christians. Now he offers a prayer to the God of endurance and encouragement.

What beautiful names for God! Paul views God as the ultimate source of encouragement and endurance. God is not merely the one to whom we will all give an account of our lives (Romans 14:12), He is also the one who will lift us up and help us to keep going. Paul asks God to give to the Christians in the church in Rome the ability to live in harmony with each other as they all live in accord—or in step—with Jesus Himself.

Paul will go on in the following verses to pray that the church in Rome will be unified, as well. Harmony, though, is something different. It is a metaphor about music, of course. The sense of it is that all Christians are singing the same song, but that we are singing different parts. This requires two things: We must adjust our pitch and tone to coordinate with each other while also performing our individual parts in the song.
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