Hallelujah

Heard in the wild

The longer version

What it means

Hallelujah is Hebrew for "praise the LORD" — hallelu (praise, plural imperative) plus Yah (a short form of God's name). Christians say it as an exclamation of praise, joy, or relief: "She's cancer-free — hallelujah!" In worship it's sung constantly; in Pentecostal and Black churches it's shouted in response to the preacher; in liturgical churches, as "Alleluia," it's sung before the Gospel reading and set aside for the whole of Lent, then sung again, triumphantly, at Easter.

It's one of a handful of words — with "amen" — that the church has never translated, in any language.

Why people say it

Because the Psalms say it, over and over, and because it does what no translation does: it's a shout, not a sentence. Christians say hallelujah when gratitude or joy needs a word and "great" won't do. Liturgical churches make the word precious by withholding it in Lent, so that its return at the Easter Vigil — after forty days — is an event.

How to respond

If someone says hallelujah at good news, they mean "thank God"; "I'm so glad" is the reply. If a congregation sings or shouts it, join in or don't. If you visit a liturgical church in Lent and notice the word is missing, that's on purpose, and if you're there at Easter, you'll hear why. If you're at a concert and everyone stands for the Hallelujah Chorus, stand — it's a tradition since 1743.

If you hear it in different churches

Pentecostal, Black church, and evangelical: "hallelujah," said and shouted freely. Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist: "alleluia," sung at set points, buried in Lent, raised at Easter. Orthodox: "alleluia," chanted throughout the liturgy, kept even in Lent. Reformed and Presbyterian: sung in psalms and hymns, less as an exclamation. Everyone knows Handel.

Where does “Hallelujah” come from?

The Psalms end with five "Hallelujah psalms" (146–150), and the word opens and closes many others. Revelation 19 is the only New Testament use — four hallelujahs in heaven — and the source of Handel's chorus. The Greek and Latin churches kept the Hebrew word (as alleluia) rather than translating it. Omitting it in Lent is a Western practice from the 400s–500s, with the "burial of the Alleluia" as a medieval custom. Handel's Messiah premiered in 1742; the tradition of standing for the Hallelujah Chorus dates, by legend, to King George II in 1743.

Good to know

You might also hear

Common questions