Kadosh Adonai Elohim is a Hebrew phrase of worship. It means, roughly, “Holy is the Lord God” — or more literally, “Holy, Lord God.” Each word carries its own weight. Kadosh is the Hebrew word for holy: set apart, consecrated, wholly other. Adonai is a title meaning “my Lord” or “Lord,” the word Jewish readers still say aloud wherever the divine name appears in the text. Elohim is the general Hebrew word for God, a plural form used with singular meaning. Put together, the phrase is not a name God gives himself so much as a confession his people make: the Lord God is holy. It echoes the song of the seraphim in Isaiah 6:3 and the ceaseless cry of the living creatures in Revelation 4:8.
What does each Hebrew word mean?
Kadosh (קָדוֹשׁ) means holy. It describes what is set apart from the common and the profane. In the Old Testament it belongs to God first of all: places, days, vessels and people are holy only because God consecrates them. Easton’s dictionary puts it plainly: holiness “in the highest sense belongs to God” (Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 15:4).
Adonai (אֲדֹנָי) is the plural form of adon, which means a master or one who has absolute control — a ruler over subjects, a husband over a household. The plural form is used as a title of majesty, and it is the word Jewish readers substitute for the divine name. As Easton notes, whenever the Tetragrammaton appeared in the sacred books, readers pronounced it “Adonai” (i.e., Lord) instead. That is why English Bibles print the divine name as LORD in small capitals: the translators followed the same convention.
Elohim (אֱלֹהִים) is the most common Hebrew word for God. It is grammatically plural in form but takes singular verbs when it refers to the one God of Israel. It is the word used in the very first verse of the Bible.
So the phrase stacks three ideas: God is set apart (kadosh), he is the sovereign master (Adonai), and he is the one true God (Elohim).
Where does the phrase come from?
The exact three-word string Kadosh Adonai Elohim is not a single verse in the Hebrew Bible. It is a liturgical compression of two things Scripture does say.
The first is the thrice-holy song of Isaiah 6:3, where the seraphim cry before the throne. The second is the common biblical pairing of Adonai with Elohim as a compound title for God — “the Lord God” — which appears throughout the Old Testament. Christian worship in many traditions has long sung or prayed a form of this phrase, and it stands behind the familiar line “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.”
It is worth being precise here. The phrase is biblical in its parts and in its sense, but it is not a verse reference you will find by turning to a single chapter and verse. It is a confession built from the vocabulary Scripture itself supplies.
Why does the divine name matter in this phrase?
Because Adonai is the word readers say instead of the divine name, the phrase sits right on top of the deepest question in this lexicon: what is God’s name, and how should it be spoken?
God revealed his name to Moses. Exodus 6:2-3 records the words:
I am the LORD. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by My name the LORD I did not make Myself known to them. — Exodus 6:2-3 (BSB)
The name in that passage is the Tetragrammaton, the four Hebrew letters YHWH. Its meaning is tied to Exodus 3:14, where God says, “I AM WHO I AM” — the unchanging, eternal, self-existent God, as Easton’s dictionary puts it. The later Jewish practice of reading Adonai in its place was a reverence-driven substitution, not a translation.
English Bibles handle this in two ways. Most print LORD in small capitals wherever the Hebrew has the divine name. A few retain the form “Jehovah” in the handful of places where the Authorized Version and the Revised Version did so — Exodus 6:3, Psalm 83:18, Isaiah 12:2 and Isaiah 26:4. So when a worshipper says Adonai in this phrase, they are saying the title that has stood in for the name for well over two thousand years.
Does calling God “holy” mean he is distant?
It can sound that way. If kadosh means set apart, and Adonai means absolute master, the phrase might seem to push God far off. Scripture does not leave it there.
Psalm 113 holds both halves together. It begins with the call to praise the name of the Lord, and then it says:
The LORD is exalted over all the nations, His glory above the heavens. Who is like the LORD our God, the One enthroned on high? He humbles Himself to behold the heavens and the earth. — Psalm 113:4-6 (BSB)
High, and yet he stoops. The same psalm goes on to say that he raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, and gives the childless woman a home. Holiness and nearness are not rivals in the Bible. The God who is set apart is the God who draws near.
That is also what the New Testament means when it calls believers to holiness. Peter writes that we are to be holy because God is holy (1 Peter 1:15-16). Holiness in us is not a mood of grim withdrawal. It is belonging wholly to the God who has wholly given himself to his people.
How should this phrase shape the way I pray?
Jesus taught his disciples to begin prayer with the words “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name” (Matthew 6:9). Hallow is the old English word for making holy — the same idea as kadosh. So the first petition of the Lord’s Prayer is essentially the confession this Hebrew phrase makes: your name is holy.
That order is worth noticing. The prayer begins with God’s name before it turns to our needs. Praying kadosh Adonai Elohim — whether in Hebrew or in English — is a way of putting the first thing first. It says that God is not a resource to be managed but a Lord to be reverenced.
If you want to pray this way, you do not need the Hebrew. “Holy is the Lord God” is a complete prayer. Say it slowly. Let it be a confession before it becomes a request. Read Psalm 113 aloud, and notice how quickly the psalmist moves from God’s height to God’s kindness. Then bring your own needs, in that order.
What this phrase does not mean
A few clarifications may help.
It is not a magical formula. The words have no power apart from the God they name. Scripture never treats Hebrew syllables as a mechanism.
It is not a name that replaces the divine name. Adonai is a title, and Elohim is a general word for God. The Tetragrammaton stands behind them, and this site’s other entries treat it directly.
It is not a claim that God is only distant. As Psalm 113 shows, the holy God is the God who stoops to lift the needy.
And it is not a phrase any one tradition owns. Christians across the historic churches have sung the Sanctus — “Holy, holy, holy” — for centuries, and Jewish worship has said Adonai in place of the name for far longer. The words are shared ground.
Where to go from here
Read Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4 side by side. Notice that the same cry rises in both: holy, holy, holy. Then read Psalm 113 and let the psalm carry you from the throne to the ash heap, where God lifts the poor.
If this phrase has raised questions you cannot settle alone, take them to a pastor or a mature believer in your own church. Scripture is not meant to be read in isolation. Pray the words before you analyse them. And keep the name of God on your lips with the reverence this phrase was built to express.
Questions readers ask
Is “Kadosh Adonai Elohim” a verse in the Bible?
Not as a single verse. It is a Hebrew worship phrase built from biblical vocabulary. Its sense comes from the thrice-holy cry of Isaiah 6:3 and Revelation 4:8, and from the common Old Testament title “the Lord God.”
Why do Jewish readers say Adonai instead of the divine name?
Out of reverence for the Tetragrammaton, YHWH. When the divine name appeared in the text, readers pronounced Adonai (“Lord”) in its place. English Bibles reflect this by printing LORD in small capitals.
Does kadosh mean the same thing as the English word “holy”?
Largely, yes. Kadosh means set apart, consecrated, or wholly other. In Scripture it belongs to God first, and to people, places, or days only because God sets them apart for himself.
How can I use this phrase in prayer?
Say it as a confession before you bring requests: “Holy is the Lord God.” It follows the pattern of the Lord’s Prayer, which begins with “hallowed be Your name” (Matthew 6:9) before it turns to daily needs.
Lexicon answers from the Bible and public-domain reference works. It is a study aid and is not affiliated with any organisation.