God Is Holy

There are at least 81 Scriptures in the Bible that specifically state that God is holy.  One out of four of the occurrences state that God’s name is holy.  God is referred to as the Holy One of Israel 31 times.

God specifically states through four different prophets that He is holy (Leviticus 11:4, 45; Isaiah 43:3, 15; Ezekiel 39:7; Hosea 11:9).  Jesus Christ called God “Holy Father” in John 17:11.  Jesus Christ is called holy himself in numerous places in the Bible and the other being of the triune God is “Holy” Spirit. Is there any doubt that God is Holy?

Old Testament Scriptures Indicating God is Holy

There are seventy-two Scriptures from the Old Testament that tell us God is Holy.

  • Leviticus tells us God is Holy six times
  • Joshua tells us God is Holy once
  • I Samuel tells us God is Holy twice
  • II Kings tells us God is Holy once
  • I Chronicles tells us God is Holy three times
  • Job tells us God is Holy once
  • Psalms tells us God is Holy fourteen times
  • Isaiah tells us God is Holy thirty one times
  • Jeremiah tells us God is Holy twice
  • Ezekiel tells us God is Holy eight times
  • Hosea tells us God is Holy once
  • Amos tells us God is Holy once
  • Habakkuk tells us God is Holy once


Here Are the 72 Scriptures


  • For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. Leviticus 11:44
  • For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. Leviticus 11:45
  • Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy. Leviticus 19:2
  • And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine. Leviticus 20:26
  • Thou shalt sanctify him therefore; for he offereth the bread of thy God: he shall be holy unto thee: for I the LORD, which sanctify you, am holy. Leviticus 21:8
  • Neither shall ye profane my holy name; but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel: I am the LORD which hallow you, Leviticus 22:32
  • And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. Joshua 24:19
  • There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God. 1 Samuel 2:2
  • And the men of Bethshemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God? and to whom shall he go up from us? 1 Samuel 6:20
  • Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel. 2 Kings 19:22
  • Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD. 1 Chronicles 16:10
  • And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us together, and deliver us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy holy name, and glory in thy praise. 1 Chronicles 16:35
  • LORD our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee an house for thine holy name cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own. 1 Chronicles 29:16
  • Then should I yet have comfort; yea, I would harden myself in sorrow: let him not spare; for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One. Job 6:10
  • But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. Psalms 22:3
  • For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name. Psalms 33:21
  • I will also praise thee with the psaltery, even thy truth, O my God: unto thee will I sing with the harp, O thou Holy One of Israel. Psalms 71:22
  • Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. Psalms 78:41
  • For the LORD is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our king. Psalms 89:18
  • Let them praise thy great and terrible name; for it is holy. Psalms 99:3
  • Exalt ye the LORD our God, and worship at his footstool; for he is holy. Psalms 99:5
  • Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the LORD our God is holy. Psalms 99:9
  • Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Psalms 103:1
  • Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD. Psalms 105:3
  • Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from among the heathen, to give thanks unto thy holy name, and to triumph in thy praise. Psalms 106:47
  • He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name. Psalms 111:9
  • The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. Psalms 145:17
  • My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever. Psalms 145:21
  • Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. Isaiah 1:4
  • But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness. Isaiah 5:16
  • That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it! Isaiah 5:19
  • Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 5:24
  • And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. Isaiah 6:3
  • And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. Isaiah 10:20
  • Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee. Isaiah 12:6



  • At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 17:7
  • The meek also shall increase their joy in the LORD, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 29:19
  • But when he seeth his children, the work of mine hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel. Isaiah 29:23
  • Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. Isaiah 30:11
  • Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon: Isaiah 30:12
  • For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not. Isaiah 30:15
  • Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD! Isaiah 31:1
  • Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 37:23
  • To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. Isaiah 40:25
  • Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 41:14
  • Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the LORD, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 41:16
  • That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the LORD hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it. Isaiah 41:20
  • For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Isaiah 43:3
  • Thus saith the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships. Isaiah 43:14
  • I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King. Isaiah 43:15
  • Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me. Isaiah 45:11
  • As for our redeemer, the LORD of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 47:4
  • Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. Isaiah 48:17
  • Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee. Isaiah 49:7
  • For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called. Isaiah 54:5
  • Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee. Isaiah 55:5
  • For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. Isaiah 57:15
  • Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee. Isaiah 60:9
  • The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, The city of the LORD, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 60:14
  • Call together the archers against Babylon: all ye that bend the bow, camp against it round about; let none thereof escape: recompense her according to her work; according to all that she hath done, do unto her: for she hath been proud against the LORD, against the Holy One of Israel. Jeremiah 50:29
  • For Israel hath not been forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of the LORD of hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel. Jeremiah 51:5
  • As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me: but pollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols. Ezekiel 20:39
  • And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the LORD, and are gone forth out of his land. Ezekiel 36:20
  • But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went. Ezekiel 36:21
  • Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. Ezekiel 36:22
  • So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel. Ezekiel 39:7
  • Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name; Ezekiel 39:25
  • And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places. Ezekiel 43:7
  • In their setting of their threshold by my thresholds, and their post by my posts, and the wall between me and them, they have even defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed: wherefore I have consumed them in mine anger. Ezekiel 43:8
  • I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city. Hosea 11:9
  • That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name: Amos 2:7
  • Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction. Habakkuk 1:12


New Testament Scriptures Indicating God is Holy


There are nine Scriptures from the New Testament that tell us God is Holy. Surprised?  This does not account for references to the Holy Spirit or Jesus Christ, the focus here was on God the Father.

  • Luke tells us God is Holy once
  • John tells us God is Holy once
  • I Corinthians tells us God is Holy once
  • I Peter tells us God is Holy twice
  • I John tells us God is Holy once
  • Revelations tells us God is Holy three times


Here Are the 9 Scriptures


  • For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. Luke 1:49
  • And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. John 17:11
  • If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. 1 Corinthians 3:17
  • But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 1 Peter 1:15
  • Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. 1 Peter 1:16
  • But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. 1 John 2:20
  • And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. Revelation 4:8
  • And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? Revelation 6:10
  • Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest. Revelation 15:4


God is Holy Indeed.