Chesed

The loving loyalty of the one who does not walk away — rendered mercy, lovingkindness or steadfast love.

No single English word carries it: chesed is love born of commitment that refuses to give up on the other party, even when they do not deserve it. It appears some 250 times in the Old Testament, almost always of God towards Israel, and is the refrain of Psalm 136 (“for his chesed endures for ever”). When the New Testament speaks of grace, this is the backdrop being assumed.