Ashira Adonai (אָשִׁירָה אֲדֹנָי) means “I will sing to the Lord” — or, more literally, “let me sing to my Lord.” It is not a divine name in the way Jehovah-Jireh or El Shaddai is a name. It is a Hebrew verb of praise joined to the title Adonai, “my Lord,” and it expresses the singer’s own resolve: whatever else is happening, I will sing.
The verb is ashira, a first-person form of shir, “to sing.” The ending carries a wish or a resolve — “I will sing,” “let me sing.” Adonai is the plural-of-majesty form of adon, “lord,” and it is the word Jewish readers say aloud wherever the Tetragrammaton, YHWH, stands in the text. So where a psalm says “I will sing to the LORD,” the Hebrew singer is saying ashira Adonai — singing to the covenant God whose name is not spoken lightly.
Where does the phrase come from in Scripture?
The clearest example of the resolve is the closing line of Psalm 61. David, overwhelmed and far from home, ends his prayer with a vow:
Then I will ever sing praise to Your name and fulfill my vows day by day. — Psalm 61:8 (BSB)
The psalm begins in distress — “Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer” (Psalm 61:1 BSB) — and ends in song. That movement is the whole shape of biblical praise. The song is not the denial of the trouble; it is what the trouble is carried into.
Psalm 42 shows the same resolve spoken to a downcast heart. The writer is taunted by enemies, and he speaks to his own soul:
Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the unease within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him for the salvation of His presence. — Psalm 42:5 (BSB)
The resolve to praise is spoken to a heart that does not yet feel like praising.
Is Ashira Adonai a name of God?
No, and this is worth being precise about, because the question usually comes from someone who has seen the phrase listed alongside names like Jehovah-Nissi or Jehovah-Shalom.
A divine name tells us something God has revealed about Himself. Jehovah-Jireh — “the LORD will provide” — is a name Abraham gave to a place after God provided the ram (Genesis 22:14). Jehovah-Shalom is the altar Gideon built after peace was granted (Judges 6:24). Those are titles attached to God.
Ashira Adonai is the opposite direction. It is a human response. It is what the worshipper says back. It belongs in the category of hallelujah or “I will bless the LORD at all times” — a confession of the creature, not a revelation of the Creator’s name.
That does not make it small. A phrase that puts words in the mouth of a struggling believer is a gift. But it is a song, not a title.
Why does the Bible say “sing” so often?
Because singing is one of the few things the Bible commands that engages memory, body, emotion and doctrine at once. Singing teaches. It carries truth past the defences of a tired mind.
When David brought the ark to Jerusalem, he appointed Asaph and his associates to lead a song of thanksgiving, and the opening lines are a pattern for all worship:
Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; tell of all His wonders. — 1 Chronicles 16:9 (BSB)
Notice the order: sing, then tell. The song is not the whole act. It is the doorway into declaring what God has done. Isaiah picks up the same theme when he pictures the redeemed singing a new song to the ends of the earth:
Sing to the LORD a new song—His praise from the ends of the earth—you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who dwell in them. — Isaiah 42:10 (BSB)
And the song is anchored in a name. Two verses earlier God says, “I am the LORD; that is My name! I will not yield My glory to another or My praise to idols” (Isaiah 42:8 BSB). The singing of Adonai is not generic religious feeling. It is praise directed to the God who has revealed His name and His character.
What does it mean to sing to Adonai when you do not feel like it?
This is where the phrase earns its place. Ashira is a resolve, and resolves are made before the feeling arrives.
Psalm 6 shows David doing exactly this. He is sick, weeping, worn out, and he asks how long it will last. Then he says:
Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am frail; heal me, O LORD, for my bones are in agony. — Psalm 6:2 (BSB)
He does not pretend. He brings the frailty and the agony into the prayer. But he brings them to a God he addresses by name. The song comes later; the honesty comes first.
So ashira Adonai is not a demand to be cheerful. It is a direction of travel. It says: I am not going to let my circumstances write the last line. I will sing to my Lord — perhaps badly, perhaps quietly, perhaps only in a whisper on the way to work — because He is who He is, and His steadfast love endures forever (Psalm 118:1).
How does this fit with the rest of the Bible’s worship?
Isaiah 12 is the clearest picture of what this kind of singing becomes when God has saved His people. The chapter opens with thanksgiving for anger turned away, and then:
Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. For the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and He also has become my salvation. — Isaiah 12:2 (BSB)
That verse echoes the song of Moses and runs through Christian worship. The pattern is consistent: God acts, the people sing. The song is a response to salvation, not a technique for getting one.
For Christians, the deepest reason to sing to Adonai is that the Lord has come near in Jesus Christ. The Old Testament singer looked forward; we look back at the cross and the empty tomb. But the call to sing is the same. Ashira Adonai — I will sing to the Lord.
How can you use this phrase in prayer?
A few simple practices follow from the meaning.
First, use it as a starting line. When you cannot find words, borrow David’s. Say, “I will sing to You, Lord,” and let the singing be a psalm read aloud, a hymn, or a line repeated quietly.
Second, sing with your church. The New Testament assumes believers gather and sing together (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16). Private resolve and public worship belong together. A local church is where ashira Adonai becomes a chorus rather than a solo.
Third, let the song carry content. Sing words that are true about God — His name, His works, His mercy. That is what David did when he handed the song to Asaph, and it is what Isaiah commanded when he said, “Sing to the LORD, for He has done glorious things” (Isaiah 12:5 BSB).
If you are in a hard season, tell a pastor or a trusted believer face to face. Singing in isolation can become performance; singing among God’s people is a shared burden.
A note on the name behind the title
Adonai is not the Tetragrammaton. It is the title readers substituted for it. When the Hebrew text has YHWH, the spoken reading is Adonai, and English Bibles render it “the LORD” in small capitals. So ashira Adonai sits at the meeting point of two things: the reverence that refused to speak the holy name carelessly, and the confidence that this same God is near enough to be addressed as “my Lord.”
That is worth holding together. Reverence and song are not enemies. The God whose name is exalted is the God who hears the cry of a faint heart from the ends of the earth (Psalm 61:1-2). He is worthy of the song, and He is kind enough to receive it when it is weak.
Questions readers ask
Is “Ashira Adonai” a name of God in the Bible?
No. It is a Hebrew phrase meaning “I will sing to the Lord” — the verb ashira (I will sing) plus the title Adonai (my Lord). It is a worshipper’s resolve, not a revealed divine name like Jehovah-Jireh or El Shaddai.
What does Adonai mean on its own?
Adonai is the plural-of-majesty form of adon, “lord.” Jewish readers say it aloud wherever the Tetragrammaton (YHWH) appears in the text, which is why English Bibles print “the LORD” in small capitals at those places.
Where does the idea of singing to the Lord appear most clearly?
Psalm 61:8 ends David’s prayer with a vow to sing praise to God’s name forever, and Psalm 42:5 speaks the same resolve to a downcast soul. Isaiah 12 and 42 also call God’s people to sing because of what He has done.
Can I sing to God when I do not feel like it?
Yes — the Hebrew verb carries the sense of a decision, not a mood. Psalm 6 shows David bringing his frailty and grief honestly to God before any song comes. Singing among a local church is a good place to begin when private worship feels flat.
Lexicon answers from the Bible and public-domain reference works. It is a study aid and is not affiliated with any organisation.