Have you ever encountered a word that you simply can’t translate into another language? My personal bane is the Chinese word, “撒娇”. I have poured hours of discussions and research into this word and still, for the life of me, can’t find a good match. Go ahead, give it a try. If you manage to find one that satisfies you, I plead to you sincerely, please tell me.
I’m sure you have seen plenty of those yourselves, and plenty more if you speak German. As we can all agree, language reaches far beyond symbols and grammar. It is a living entity born out of the culture, zeitgeist, philosophy, and social norms of a people. While we have no trouble communicating across most common languages 99% of the time, that 1% reminds us to appreciate the differences and diversity of all God’s people.
Speaking of God’s people, when the Scripture was written thousands of years ago, it was specifically addressing people of vastly different times, cultures, languages, and philosophies from ours. I especially like the saying, “The Bible was written for us, but not written to us.” Since it was not written specifically with 21st-Century English and Chinese speakers in mind (Surprise! Not everything in this world is about us.) naturally, certain words don’t quite translate very well. One such word of great importance is חֶסֶד (Chesed).
Many Biblical scholars, hence Bible versions, have attempted to find something in English to translate “Chesed”, such as (God’s) mercy, pity, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, etc. Maybe the aggregate of them all is more appropriate than any single one. Or perhaps each context may favor one over the other. In any case, none of these choices can be called “wrong”. Having said that, the one that tugs at my heartstrings the most is the one chosen by NKJV, “lovingkindness“, or “慈愛” in CUV.
Psalm 25:6 Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses, for they are from of old.
詩篇 25:6 耶和華啊，求你記念你的憐憫和慈愛，因為這是亙古以來所常有的。
Let’s first give credit to the inventiveness of “lovingkindness”. If there isn’t one word that can properly translate “Chesed”, glue two together! (Of course, this is not new to German speakers.) That also makes it one of the longest words in the entire Bible. (I know, Isaiah has a child whose name is longer, but first, it’s a name, and second, it has hyphens.)
Back to “Chesed”. The depth and richness of this word are only appropriate to describe this wonderful attribute of God. It is the eternal love of God that not only gives and promises but also forgives and endures, the kind of love that shines all the brighter amidst our faults, the kind of kindness that is stronger than steel and powerful to change lives, and then so much more. If English lacks a word for “Chesed”, maybe it needs one. Maybe “lovingkindness” is perfect.
So that’s it, now you know how to translate “慈愛”. You know the longest name in the Bible. You know possibly the longest word in the Bible. Most importantly, you now know about “Chesed”.
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