חָסִיד

Deuteronomy 33:8 חֲסִידֶ֑ךָ faithful [one] your

Concerning Levi he said: “Give Your Thummim to Levi and Your Urim to Your godly one, whom You tested at Massah and contested at the waters of Meribah.

Here: One who shows ḥesed, steadfast covenant loyalty. 'Your ḥasîd' marks Levi as YHWH's devoted, loyal servant, which v.9 explains: Levi put God's covenant ahead of family ties.

1 Samuel 2:9 חֲסִידָיו֙ faithful [people] his

He guards the steps of His faithful ones, but the wicked perish in darkness; for by his own strength shall no man prevail.

Here: 'His ḥasîdîm' are the people bound to God by ḥesed, steadfast covenant loyalty: those who keep faith with him and belong to him. The word is about allegiance and loyalty, not about being morally flawless or set apart as 'saints'.

2 Samuel 22:26 חָסִ֖יד a faithful [person]

To the faithful You show Yourself faithful, to the blameless You show Yourself blameless;

2 Chronicles 6:41 וַחֲסִידֶ֖יךָ and faithful [people] your

Now therefore, arise, O LORD God, and enter Your resting place, You and the ark of Your might. May Your priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and may Your godly ones rejoice in goodness.

Here: People defined by chesed, covenant loyalty: God's faithful worshipers, the loyal community. It sets up a wordplay with 'the loyal acts (chasdei) of David' in v. 42.

Psalm 4:3 חָסִ֣יד [the] faithful

Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for Himself; the LORD hears when I call to Him.

Here: A person marked by ḥesed, steady covenant loyalty. It refers first to a relationship of loyalty, not to general piety or moral polish. The noun has no article, so it can be read as 'a loyal one', and in context it means the speaker himself.

Psalm 12:1 חָסִ֑יד [the] faithful

For the choirmaster. According to Sheminith. A Psalm of David. Help, O LORD, for the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished from among men.

Here: Singular, but it stands for a whole type of person: the one who practises ḥesed, meaning steady covenant loyalty and kindness toward God and neighbour. The poet's complaint is that this kind of person can no longer be found.

Psalm 16:10 חֲ֝סִידְךָ֗ faithful [one] your

For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay.

Here: 'Your loyal one': the person bound to God by ḥesed, covenant faithfulness. Here it is the psalmist himself. The written consonants suggest a plural, 'your faithful ones'.

Psalm 18:25 חָסִ֥יד a faithful [person]

To the faithful You show Yourself faithful, to the blameless You show Yourself blameless;

Here: A person marked by ḥesed: loyal, kind and committed within a relationship. In the Psalms these are YHWH's devoted people, the ones who keep faith with him. 'Pious' is too thin a gloss and 'merciful' points the wrong way.

Psalm 30:4 חֲסִידָ֑יו O faithful [people] his

Sing to the LORD, O you His saints, and praise His holy name.

Here: 'His loyal ones' is a direct address to the worshippers. The word comes from ḥesed, the steady, committed love that belongs to a covenant bond. It describes people who belong to that bond with God and live by it. They are not an elite of especially holy individuals.

Psalm 31:23 חֲסִ֫ידָ֥יו faithful [people] his

Love the LORD, all His saints. The LORD preserves the faithful, but fully repays the arrogant.

Here: People defined by ḥesed, steadfast covenant loyalty. "His" marks them as people who belong to YHWH. It describes ordinary faithful members of the covenant people, not specially holy individuals.

Psalm 32:6 חָסִ֨יד׀ faithful [person]

Therefore let all the godly pray to You while You may be found. Surely when great waters rise, they will not come near.

Here: Someone who belongs inside YHWH's bond of covenant loyalty (ḥesed) and lives by it. It describes a person committed to the relationship, not someone already morally flawless. The very next thing such a person is told to do is confess.

Psalm 37:28 חֲ֭סִידָיו faithful [people] his

For the LORD loves justice and will not forsake His saints. They are preserved forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off.

Here: People marked by ḥesed, the steady loyalty owed inside a covenant bond. 'His' matters: they belong to YHWH and are loyal to him, and that is why he will not drop them.

Psalm 43:1 חָסִ֑יד faithful

Vindicate me, O God, and plead my case against an ungodly nation; deliver me from deceitful and unjust men.

Here: The word comes from ḥesed, the steady, loyal love owed within a relationship. A people that is "not ḥasid" has no loyalty and no kindness. They break the faithfulness they owe. The phrase is about how they treat people, and about their religion only through that.

Psalm 50:5 חֲסִידָ֑י O faithful [people] my

“Gather to Me My saints, who made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”

Here: 'My loyal ones', people defined by ḥesed, the steady loyalty that a covenant requires. It is a title for the covenant people as a whole ('his people', v. 4). It does not pick out a spiritual elite. In this courtroom the title carries an edge: they are called by the name of the very loyalty they are about to be tested on.

Psalm 52:9 חֲסִידֶֽיךָ׃ faithful [people] your

I will praise You forever, because You have done it. I will wait on Your name—for it is good—in the presence of Your saints.

Here: 'Your loyal ones': people marked by ḥesed, the faithful covenant love just praised in verses 1 and 8. These are the worshipping community bound to God, the audience for the speaker's testimony.

Psalm 79:2 חֲ֝סִידֶ֗יךָ faithful [people] your

They have given the corpses of Your servants as food to the birds of the air, the flesh of Your saints to the beasts of the earth.

Here: 'Your loyal ones': people bound to God by ḥesed, which is steadfast covenant loyalty. This is a word about belonging to God and being faithful to him, not about being morally exceptional. It runs parallel to 'your servants' and describes the same people.

Psalm 85:8 חֲסִידָ֑יו faithful [people] his

I will listen to what God the LORD will say; for He will surely speak peace to His people and His saints; He will not let them return to folly.

Here: "His loyal ones": people tied to God by chesed, his covenant loyalty, the word the community has just begged for in v. 7. It describes the people by their relationship to God, not as moral heroes.

Psalm 86:2 חָסִ֪יד [am] faithful

Preserve my soul, for I am godly. You are my God; save Your servant who trusts in You.

Here: From the same root as chesed (loyal, covenant love). The speaker says he belongs to God's loyal people and has kept faith with him. He is not claiming to be morally flawless.

Psalm 89:19 לַֽחֲסִידֶ֗יךָ to faithful [people] your

You once spoke in a vision; to Your godly ones You said, “I have bestowed help on a warrior; I have exalted one chosen from the people.

Here: 'To your loyal ones.' The word comes from ḥesed, the covenant loyalty this psalm keeps returning to. These are people bound to God by that loyalty. Some manuscripts have the singular, which would mean Nathan the prophet (see notes).

Psalm 97:10 חֲסִידָ֑יו faithful [people] his

Hate evil, O you who love the LORD! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

Here: From ḥesed, 'loyal covenant love'. These are the people bound to YHWH in loyalty, who show that loyalty back to him. 'His' marks them as belonging to him. They are the 'lovers of YHWH' of the first line.

Psalm 116:15 לַחֲסִידָֽיו׃ of faithful [people] his

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints.

Here: 'Belonging to his hasidim': people who live in hesed, the steady covenant loyalty between God and his people. Here it means God's own faithful people, not a special class of extraordinary holy people.

Psalm 132:9 וַחֲסִידֶ֥יךָ and faithful [people] your

May Your priests be clothed with righteousness, and Your saints shout for joy.

Here: "And your faithful ones": the worshipers bound to YHWH in covenant loyalty (chesed). These are the ordinary members of the worshiping people, set next to the priests. It does not mean a special class of holy elite.

Psalm 132:16 וַ֝חֲסִידֶ֗יהָ and faithful [people] its

I will clothe her priests with salvation, and her saints will sing out in joy.

Here: "And her loyal ones": Zion's worshipping people, marked by chesed (steadfast covenant loyalty). The word means people defined by their bond with God, not a special class of extra-holy individuals.

Psalm 145:10 וַ֝חֲסִידֶ֗יךָ and faithful [people] your

All You have made will give You thanks, O LORD, and Your saints will bless You.

Here: 'And your loyal ones': people bound to God by ḥesed (steadfast covenant love). It echoes verse 8, where God is 'great in ḥesed'. These are God's covenant people, the faithful worshipping community. It does not mean a special class of holy elites.

Psalm 145:17 וְ֝חָסִ֗יד and faithful

The LORD is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His deeds.

Here: The adjective made from chesed, the steadfast, loyal love that belongs to a committed bond. Hebrew poets almost always use this word for faithful people (v. 10, "your faithful ones"). Here, very unusually, it describes God himself as the one who practices chesed.

Psalm 148:14 חֲסִידָ֗יו faithful [people] his

He has raised up a horn for His people, the praise of all His saints, of Israel, a people near to Him. Hallelujah!

Here: 'His faithful ones': people marked by ḥesed, the loyal love of covenant. The word describes the worshipping covenant community, not a spiritual elite. It returns at once in Ps 149:1, 5, 9.

Psalm 149:1 חֲסִידִֽים׃ faithful [people]

Hallelujah! Sing to the LORD a new song—His praise in the assembly of the godly.

Here: "The loyal ones": people marked by ḥesed, the steadfast covenant loyalty that binds God and his people. It describes the worshiping covenant community as a whole, not a special class of holy people. The same word is used of God's people in 148:14 and 149:5.

Psalm 149:5 חֲסִידִ֣ים faithful [people]

Let the saints exult in glory; let them shout for joy upon their beds.

Here: The people tied to God by ḥesed, his steady covenant loyalty. These are the same "assembly of the ḥasidim" as in verse 1: Israel gathered for worship, the ordinary faithful, not a special class of holy individuals.

Psalm 149:9 חֲסִידָ֗יו faithful [people] his

to execute the judgment written against them. This honor is for all His saints. Hallelujah!

Proverbs 2:8 חֲסִידָ֣יו faithful [people] his

to guard the paths of justice and protect the way of His saints.

Here: People marked by ḥesed, the loyal, committed love that belongs to a covenant bond. 'His' makes them God's own loyal people. It describes a relationship of devotion, not a special class of holy people.

Jeremiah 3:12 חָסִ֤יד [am] faithful

Go, proclaim this message toward the north: ‘Return, O faithless Israel,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will no longer look on you with anger, for I am merciful,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will not be angry forever.

Here: 'Loyal' or 'devoted': someone who practises chesed, the steadfast kindness and loyalty that keeps a relationship going. It is the opposite of Israel's 'turning away'. This is the only place where God says 'I am chasid' about himself.

Micah 7:2 חָסִיד֙ [the] faithful

The godly man has perished from the earth; there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; they hunt one another with a net.

Here: A person marked by ḥesed, the loyal kindness owed inside a relationship of commitment. It is a singular standing for a whole type: 'the loyal kind of person'. It describes how someone keeps faith with God and with neighbour, not private religiosity.