Holy, Holy, Holy Reginald Heber, 1826
4 verses, sung to Nicaea (11.12.12.10), public domain, free to print and project.
The words
Verse 1. Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty
Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee;
Holy, holy, holy merciful and mighty!
God in Three Persons, blessèd Trinity!
Verse 2. Holy, holy, holy! all the saints adore thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee,
Which wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.
Verse 3. Holy, holy, holy! tho’ the darkness hide thee,
Though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see,
Only thou art holy, there is none beside thee,
Perfect in power, in love, and purity.
Verse 4. Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty
All thy works shall praise thy name, in earth, and sky, and sea;
Holy, holy, holy merciful and mighty!
God in Three Persons, blessèd Trinity!
Words copied from The Army and Navy Hymnal (1920). They were published in 1826, so they are in the public domain in the United States, and your church may print them, show them and sing them without a license.
The hymn library's slide and print features are made by Church Posting.
The story behind Holy, Holy, Holy
Reginald Heber, an Anglican clergyman, wrote Holy, Holy, Holy for Trinity Sunday while he was vicar of Hodnet in Shropshire, England. He was building a set of hymns for the Sundays of the church year. The words follow Revelation 4 and Isaiah 6, where heavenly voices sing holy before God's throne. A handwritten copy in the British Library is dated to about 1820 or 1821.
Heber became Bishop of Calcutta in 1823 and died in India in 1826. His hymns were printed after his death. Sources disagree on the first printing. One account says the hymn appeared in the third edition of a Banbury parish hymn collection, dated 1825 or 1826, but that book appears to be lost. The first printing anyone can confirm is Hymns Written and Adapted to the Weekly Church Service of the Year, published in 1827 without music. It has four stanzas.
The tune came a generation later. John Bacchus Dykes wrote NICAEA for the first edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern in 1861 and sent it to the music editor, William Henry Monk, in October 1860. He named it for the Council of Nicaea in 325, which produced the Nicene Creed. Readers often hear the tune's opening triad as a nod to the Trinity. Text and tune have stayed together in nearly every hymnal since 1861, and Hymnary.org lists the tune in E major.
Some modern printings change the line about the morning so the hymn fits any hour of the day.
Reginald Heber
1783 to 1826-04-03
Reginald Heber was an English Anglican clergyman. Julian's Dictionary of Hymnology gives his birth as April 21, 1783, at Malpas, and another source gives only the year. He studied at Brasenose College, Oxford, and won the Newdigate prize for his poem Palestine. He served as vicar of Hodnet from 1807 for about sixteen years, gave the Bampton Lectures in 1815 and became Bishop of Calcutta in 1823. He died on April 3, 1826, at Trichinopoly, India. His widow compiled his Hymns Written and Adapted to the Weekly Church Service of the Year in 1827, with 57 of his hymns, including Holy, Holy, Holy.
John Bacchus Dykes
1823 to 1876
John Bacchus Dykes was born in Kingston-upon-Hull, England, in 1823. At ten he became organist of St. John's in Hull, where his grandfather was vicar. He earned a classics degree at St. Catherine College, Cambridge, and the Church of England ordained him in 1847. In 1849 he became precentor and choir director at Durham Cathedral. He served the parish of St. Oswald in Durham from 1862 until he died at Ticehurst, Sussex, in 1876. He favored high church practices, which displeased his bishop. Hymnary.org credits him with about 300 hymn tunes, and he wrote NICAEA for Holy, Holy, Holy in 1861.
- Hymnary.org, Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty! , read 2026-10-16
- Hymnology Archive, Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty , read 2026-10-16
- Hymnary.org, NICAEA (Dykes) , read 2026-10-16
- Hymnary.org, Reginald Heber , read 2026-10-16
Scripture in Holy, Holy, Holy
The Bible passages behind the words.
- Isaiah 6:3
- Revelation 4:8
- Revelation 4:11
- Revelation 15:4
- Revelation 5:13
Holy, Holy, Holy videos
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Holy, Holy, Holy • Congregational Daniel Baptist, Congregation
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Holy, Holy, Holy - Congregational Singing Temple Baptist Church, Congregation
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Holy, Holy, Holy | The Tabernacle Choir The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, Choir
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Holy, Holy, Holy! - A Cappella Hymn A Cappella Hymns, A cappella
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Holy, Holy, Holy - piano instrumental hymn with lyrics Kaleb Brasee, Piano
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Shane & Shane: Holy, Holy, Holy (We Bow Before Thee) Shane and Shane, Modern arrangement
Videos play from YouTube, and nothing loads from YouTube until you press play. A video may sing different verses from the ones printed on this page.
Downloads, printing and slides
Sheet music files
- Sheet music PDF 115 KB. Words and all four parts, ready to print.
- Lead sheet PDF 89 KB. Melody, words and chord symbols for piano or guitar.
- MusicXML score XML 71 KB. Opens in MuseScore, Finale, Sibelius and Dorico to change the key or print parts.
- MIDI, all parts MIDI 2 KB. Plays the four-part harmony in any MIDI player or notation app.
- MIDI, melody only MIDI 1 KB. The tune alone, for learning it.
Practice tracks for each voice part, as MIDI: Alto , Tenor , Bass .
Chords and keys
Hymnals print it in E.
Questions people ask
Who wrote Holy, Holy, Holy?
Reginald Heber wrote the words for Trinity Sunday while he was vicar of Hodnet. John Bacchus Dykes wrote the tune NICAEA in 1861.
What is the Bible basis for Holy, Holy, Holy?
Hymnary.org ties the stanzas to Isaiah 6:3 and Revelation 4:8, where heavenly beings cry holy before God's throne. Stanzas 3 and 4 also draw on Revelation 4:11, 15:4 and 5:13.
Is Holy, Holy, Holy a Catholic hymn?
Heber was an Anglican, and the hymn first appeared in Anglican books. It now appears in Baptist, Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist and many other hymnals.
Is Holy, Holy, Holy in the public domain?
The words are public domain in the United States. Sources date the first printing to 1826 or 1827, and the tune NICAEA dates to 1861.
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