Bible Strands
Isaiah 22:16
What are you doing here, and who authorized you to carve out a tomb for yourself here—to chisel your tomb in the height and cut your resting place in the rock?
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Isaiah delivers a divine message to Shebna, the palace steward, immediately after identifying him in the preceding verse and just before pronouncing judgment on him. The prophet confronts Shebna directly as God’s authorized messenger.
The words — The Hebrew terms חָצַבְתָּ (cha.Tzav.ta) and קָבֶר (Ka.ver) literally mean "you have dug out" and "a tomb." The repeated use of פֹה (foh/poh) emphasizes the specific, elevated location of this self-authorized monument.
The thread — The text’s focus on a self-cut rock tomb parallels later biblical accounts of royal burials, including Absalom’s pillar in the King’s Valley, Asa’s tomb in the City of David, and the new tomb Jesus occupied.
Why it lands — The text states that Shebna constructed a prominent tomb without divine authorization. It asks the reader to examine whether human efforts to secure legacy operate under or in defiance of God’s authority.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, as he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, and that graveth an habitation for himself in a rock?
Cross-references
- Matthew 27:60 and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut into the rock. Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance to the tomb and went away.
- 2 Samuel 18:18 During his lifetime, Absalom had set up for himself a pillar in the King’s Valley, for he had said, “I have no son to preserve the memory of my name.” So he gave the pillar his name, and to this day it is called Absalom’s Monument.
- 2 Chronicles 16:14 And he was buried in the tomb that he had cut out for himself in the City of David. They laid him on a bier that was full of spices and various blended perfumes; then they made a great fire in his honor.
- Job 3:14 with kings and counselors of the earth, who built for themselves cities now in ruins,
- Isaiah 14:18 All the kings of the nations lie in state, each in his own tomb.
- Isaiah 52:5 And now what have I here? declares the LORD. For My people have been taken without cause; those who rule them taunt, declares the LORD, and My name is blasphemed continually all day long.
- Micah 2:10 Arise and depart, for this is not your place of rest, because its defilement brings destruction—a grievous destruction!