Micah 6:8 (NWT 1960)
He has told you, O earthling man, what is good. And what is Jehovah asking back from you but to exercise justice and to love kindness and to be humble in walking with your God?
Footnote on "kindness" : Or, “loving-kindness”; or “loyal love.” M, hhes'ed
Micah 6:8 (NWT 1971, NWT 1981, NWT 1984)
He has told you, O earthling man, what is good. And what is Jehovah asking back from you but to exercise justice and to love kindness and to be modest in walking with your God?
Footnote on "kindness" : Or, “loving-kindness”; or “loyal love.” M, hhes'ed
Micah 6:8 (NWT 2013)
He has told you, O man, what is good. And what is Jehovah requiring of you? Only to exercise justice, to cherish loyalty, And to walk in modesty with your God!
Footnote on "to cherish loyalty" : Or “to be kind and loyal in your love.” Lit., “to love loyal love.”
The Hebrew word chesed which is translated as loyalty in the 2013 NWT is difficult to translate into English, because it really has no precise equivalent in our language. English versions usually try to represent it with such words as "loving-kindness," "mercy," "steadfast love," and sometimes "loyalty," but the full meaning of the word cannot be conveyed without an explanation, such as the one given here.
Due to this difficulty in translation all the versions of the NWT which contained footnotes prior to the version of 2013 translated chesed as loving-kindness wherever it occurred, and had the footnote "Or, loyal love". The word conveys both loving-kindness and loyalty so in translating it as "loyal" or "loyalty" is not incorrect but the emphasis on loyalty to the exclusion of loving-kindness is.