Chesed

thumb|right|"I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight." (Jeremiah 9:23) Chesed (חֶסֶד) is a word that occurs in the Hebrew Bible. It is variously translated as "lovingkindness", "kindness", "goodness", "mercy" and "steadfast love". Quotes Hebrew Bible right כִּי אִם־בְּזֹאת יִתְהַלֵּל הַמִּתְהַלֵּל הַשְׂכֵּל וְיָדֹעַ אוֹתִי כִּי אֲנִי יְהֹוָה עֹשֶׂה חֶסֶד מִשְׁפָּט וּצְדָקָה בָּאָרֶץ כִּי־בְאֵלֶּה חָפַצְתִּי נְאֻם־יְהֹוָה׃ Jeremiah 9:23 (MT) Translation: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord. KJV translation right כִּי חֶסֶד חָפַצְתִּי וְלֹא־זָבַח וְדַעַת אֱלֹהִים מֵעֹלוֹת׃ Hosea 6:6 (MT) Translation: For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. KJV translation right הִגִּיד לְךָ אָדָם מַה־טּוֹב וּמָה־יְהֹוָה דּוֹרֵשׁ מִמְּךָ כִּי אִם־עֲשׂוֹת מִשְׁפָּט וְאַהֲבַת חֶסֶד וְהַצְנֵעַ לֶכֶת עִם־אֱלֹהֶיךָ׃ Micah 6:8 (MT) Translation: He has told you, O man, what is good;  and what does the Lord require of youbut to do justice, and to love kindness,  and to walk humbly with your God? ESV translation right חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת אַל־יַעַזְבֻךָ קׇשְׁרֵם עַל־גַּרְגְּרוֹתֶיךָ כׇּתְבֵם עַל־לוּחַ לִבֶּךָ׃ Proverbs 3:3 (MT) Translation: Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart. KJV translation New Testament Εἰ δὲ ἐγνώκειτε τί ἐστιν· Ἔλεος θέλω καὶ οὐ θυσίαν, οὐκ ἂν κατεδικάσατε τοὺς ἀναιτίους. Matthew 12:7 (SBL) Translation: But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. KJV translation Commentary thumb|right|"Miles Coverdale, a sixteenth-century Bible translator in England ... felt compelled to coin a new word to describe it: loving-kindness." (Rachel Held Evans: Wholehearted Faith) Chesed is a covenantal love, a profound and committed and long-term love, a kind love—but not a romantic love. Among people, it can take the form of charity; from God to human, chesed has qualities of mercy, of grace, and of long-suffering. This kind of love so confounded Miles Coverdale, a sixteenth-century Bible translator in England, that as he worked to translate the Hebrew Scriptures into English, he felt compelled to coin a new word to describe it: loving-kindness. Rachel Held Evans: Wholehearted Faith, ch. 5, "Thick Skin, Tender Heart". HarperCollins (2021). 978-0-06-289447-2. God is described over two hundred times in the Old Testament as being חסד "hesed/chesed," a quality God also desires from us: "For I delight in loyalty [hesed] rather than sacrifice" (Hosea 6:6). The Hebrew word hesed is translated as "devoted," "faithful," and "unchanging love." Jim Wilder: Renovated: God, Dallas Willard, and the Church That Transforms, ch. 1, "Salvation Is a New Attachment". Shepherd's House (2020). 978-1-64158-167-7. See also Agape Kindness Mercy External links Category:Judaism