The RSV (and many translations afterward) translated the word "hesed" as "steadfast love." The ISV calls it gracious love; NIV is inconsistent (love, covenant of love); ASV loving kindness; KJV, mercy.
I like the idea of "steadfast love" but many scholars say "committed love" is the real sense. Like in our marriage vows, God commits His love for better or worse, in sickness and health, etc. Except ... HE REALLY MEANS IT!
I get SO MUCH COMFORT from His committed love to me. "Nothing can separate me from the Love of God!"
In other words, as you so wonderfully say: He will never abandon us.
Oh, Sam, thanks for the input about all the translations and shades of meaning. And your wonderful celebratory proclamation of his everlasting commitment. It’s too much to take in and yet we do find such comfort and peace there, don’t we? Glory.
Thanks for reading and responding.
Come, Lord Jesus, on Sam and me and all who read this, and pour out an even deeper awareness of your committed love for each one of us.
I have a little quote database where I collect verse and quotes that mean something to me. I have a list of verses (and there are HUNDREDS) that closely connect "steadfast (or committed) love" with "His faithfulness." (Like God is going out of His way to point out that His Love is Forever!) Here are a few:
Ex. 34:6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,
Ps. 18:50 Great salvation he brings to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever.
Ps. 33:
4 For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness.
5 He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.
Ps. 36:
5 Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
Ps. 40:
10 I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation.
11 As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain your mercy from me;
your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me!
Ps. 89:
Multiple connections between covenant love (hsd) and His faithfulness:
1 I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.
2 For I said, “Steadfast love will be built up forever; in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.”
3 You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one ... 4 ‘I will establish your offspring forever,
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
24 My faithfulness and my steadfast love shall be with him, and in my name shall his horn be exalted.
28 My steadfast love I will keep for him forever, and my covenant will stand firm for him.
33 but I will not remove from him my steadfast love or be false to my faithfulness. 34 I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips.
49 Lord, where is your steadfast love of old, which by your faithfulness you swore to David?
And in the context of his Steadfast, Covenant, Faithful Love: walking
15 Blessed are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O Lord, in the light of your face,
Ps. 77:
6 I said, “Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart.” Then my spirit made a diligent search {"diligent search" means to plait or weave; to put all the threads together}, so here the psalmist asks a bunch of questions, two of which are:
8 Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
Are his promises at an end for all time?
And the answer is: NO! His steadfast committed love never ends. It's good to remember.
Ps. 89:
1 I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.
2 For I said, “Steadfast love will be built up forever; in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.”
And then in discussing David:
28 My steadfast love
I will keep for him forever, and my covenant will stand firm for him. 29 I will establish his offspring forever and his throne as the days of the heavens.
30 If his children forsake my law
and do not walk according to my rules, 31 if they violate my statutes and do not keep my commandments,
32 then I will punish
their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes,
33 but I will not remove from him
my steadfast love or be false to my faithfulness. 34 I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips. 35 Once for all I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David.
36 His offspring shall endure forever, his throne as long as the sun before me.
Ps. 92: 2 to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night,
Ps. 98: 3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Ps. 100: 5 For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
Sam, what a feast! So much food for our spirits. I have a pretty good sense of his love, but still a tear or two reading through this concentrated list of his marvelous words describing this great reality that undergirds our lives. Exodus 34:6 is so important to me. “Compassionate" is often the translation for that first word he uses to describe himself (after establishing his Lordship). That his first self description is “suffering with” saved my emotional life. So precious.
Thanks so much for sharing these wonderful verses. Good food for the day. Bless you!
Hi Karen,
The RSV (and many translations afterward) translated the word "hesed" as "steadfast love." The ISV calls it gracious love; NIV is inconsistent (love, covenant of love); ASV loving kindness; KJV, mercy.
I like the idea of "steadfast love" but many scholars say "committed love" is the real sense. Like in our marriage vows, God commits His love for better or worse, in sickness and health, etc. Except ... HE REALLY MEANS IT!
I get SO MUCH COMFORT from His committed love to me. "Nothing can separate me from the Love of God!"
In other words, as you so wonderfully say: He will never abandon us.
Oh, Sam, thanks for the input about all the translations and shades of meaning. And your wonderful celebratory proclamation of his everlasting commitment. It’s too much to take in and yet we do find such comfort and peace there, don’t we? Glory.
Thanks for reading and responding.
Come, Lord Jesus, on Sam and me and all who read this, and pour out an even deeper awareness of your committed love for each one of us.
I have a little quote database where I collect verse and quotes that mean something to me. I have a list of verses (and there are HUNDREDS) that closely connect "steadfast (or committed) love" with "His faithfulness." (Like God is going out of His way to point out that His Love is Forever!) Here are a few:
Ex. 34:6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,
Ps. 18:50 Great salvation he brings to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever.
Ps. 33:
4 For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness.
5 He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.
Ps. 36:
5 Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
Ps. 40:
10 I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation.
11 As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain your mercy from me;
your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me!
Ps. 89:
Multiple connections between covenant love (hsd) and His faithfulness:
1 I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.
2 For I said, “Steadfast love will be built up forever; in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.”
3 You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one ... 4 ‘I will establish your offspring forever,
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
24 My faithfulness and my steadfast love shall be with him, and in my name shall his horn be exalted.
28 My steadfast love I will keep for him forever, and my covenant will stand firm for him.
33 but I will not remove from him my steadfast love or be false to my faithfulness. 34 I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips.
49 Lord, where is your steadfast love of old, which by your faithfulness you swore to David?
And in the context of his Steadfast, Covenant, Faithful Love: walking
15 Blessed are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O Lord, in the light of your face,
Ps. 77:
6 I said, “Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart.” Then my spirit made a diligent search {"diligent search" means to plait or weave; to put all the threads together}, so here the psalmist asks a bunch of questions, two of which are:
8 Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
Are his promises at an end for all time?
And the answer is: NO! His steadfast committed love never ends. It's good to remember.
Ps. 89:
1 I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.
2 For I said, “Steadfast love will be built up forever; in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.”
And then in discussing David:
28 My steadfast love
I will keep for him forever, and my covenant will stand firm for him. 29 I will establish his offspring forever and his throne as the days of the heavens.
30 If his children forsake my law
and do not walk according to my rules, 31 if they violate my statutes and do not keep my commandments,
32 then I will punish
their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes,
33 but I will not remove from him
my steadfast love or be false to my faithfulness. 34 I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips. 35 Once for all I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David.
36 His offspring shall endure forever, his throne as long as the sun before me.
Ps. 92: 2 to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night,
Ps. 98: 3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Ps. 100: 5 For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
Oh, and I like that explanation of diligence: weave together…study long enough that we can put it into context.
And I’m going to copy your list for myself.
Sam, what a feast! So much food for our spirits. I have a pretty good sense of his love, but still a tear or two reading through this concentrated list of his marvelous words describing this great reality that undergirds our lives. Exodus 34:6 is so important to me. “Compassionate" is often the translation for that first word he uses to describe himself (after establishing his Lordship). That his first self description is “suffering with” saved my emotional life. So precious.
Thanks so much for sharing these wonderful verses. Good food for the day. Bless you!