El Adon

El Adon or El Adon al kol ha-ma'asim (Hebrew: אל אדון or אל אדון על כל המעשים, English: God is the Lord or God is the Lord of all creation) is a well-known Jewish liturgical poem, a so-called piyyut that was probably written in the Land of Israel during the Middle Ages but could be as old as the second century, making it possibly one of the oldest Jewish prayers in continuous use. Like many other liturgical poems, it is written without rhyme and as an alphabetical poem - meaning that the first line starts with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the second line starts with the second letter thereof, and so on.

Text

Text below is Nusach Sefard; Nusach Ashkenaz wording differs slightly, and there is a large variety of textual variant in old Ashkenazic siddurim. The first Hebrew letter of each line is made bold as to indicate the alphabetical nature of the poem.

Hebrew	Transliteration	English translation
אל אדון על כל המעשים ברוך ומבורך בפי כל הנשמה גדולו וטובו מלא עולם דעת ותבונה סובבים הודו המתגאה על חיות הקודש ונהדר בכבוד על המרכבה זכות ומשור לפני כסאו חסד ורחמים מלא כבודו טובים מאורות שבראם אלוהינו יצרם בדעת בבינה ובהשכל כח וגבורה נתן בהם להיות מושלים בקרב תבל מלאים זיו ומפיקים נוגה נאה זיום בכל העולם שֹמחים בצאתם וששים בבואם עושים באימה רוצון קוניהם פאר וכבוד נותנים לשמו צהלה ורינה לזכר מלכותו קרא לשמש ויזרח אור ראה והיתקין צורת הלבנה שבח נותנים לו כל צבא מרום תפארת וגדולה שרפים, וחיות ואופני הקודש	El Adon 'al kol ha-ma'asim. Barukh u'mevorakh be'fi kol ha-neshama God'lo ve'tuvo male 'olam. Da'at u'tvonah sovevim hodo Ha-mitga'eh al Hayot ha-qodesh Ve'nehdar be'khavod 'al ha-merkavah Zekhut u'mishor lifne khis'o Hesed ve'raHamim male kevodo Tovim me'orot she'bram Elohenu Yetzaram be'da'at, be'vina u'v'ha'skel KoáH u'gvorah natan ba'hem Lihyot moshelim be'kerev tevel Mele'im ziv u'mfiqim nogah Na'eh zivam be'khol ha-olam SemeHim be'tzetam ve'sasim be'voam 'Osim be'emah rètzon qonehem Pe'er ve'khavod notenim li'shmo Tzahala ve'rina le'zekher malkhuto Qara la'shemesh va'yizrah Ór. Ra'ah ve'hitkin tzorat ha-levanah ShevaH notenim lo kol tz'va marom Tiferet u'gdulah serafim, ve'Hayot, ve'ofanei ha-qodesh.	God is the Lord of all creation He is praised by the breath of all life His greatness and goodness fills the universe Knowledge and wisdom surround his presence Exalted is He by the celestial beings Adorned in the glory by the mysteries of heaven Purity and justice guard his throne Kindness and mercy abound in his glory Good are the luminaries which our God created Made with understanding, wisdom, and insight He endowed them with energy and power To dominate within their sphere of the universe Full of splendour, they radiate brightness Their brilliance adorns the universe Rejoicing in rising and exalting in setting With reverence they obey the will of their creator Glory and honor they give to his name And sing his sovereignty with joyous praise He summoned the sun, and it shed its light He set the cycle of the moon's phases All the armies of heaven give him praise His glory and grandeur they proclaim - all the various celestial beings