Lectionary Calendar
Sunday, November 24th, 2024
the Week of Christ the King / Proper 29 / Ordinary 34
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English Standard Version

Isaiah 22:16

What have you to do here, and whom have you here, that you have cut out here a tomb for yourself, you who cut out a tomb on the height and carve a dwelling for yourself in the rock?

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Burial;   Isaiah;   Pride;   Shebna (Shebnah);   Thompson Chain Reference - Ambition;   Worldly;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Ambition;   Burial;   Rocks;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Isaiah;   Sepulchre;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Grave;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Eliakim;   Grave;   Shebna;   Tent;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Burial;   Eliakim;   Lazarus;   Shebna;   Tombs;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Chisel;   Eliakim;   Isaiah;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Arts and Crafts;   Isaiah, Book of;   Prophecy, Prophets;   Rock;   Shebna;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Shebna;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Burial;   Ezekiel;   Hezekiah;   Shinnuy Ha-Shem;   Tombs;  

Parallel Translations

Easy-to-Read Version
and say this: "What are you doing here? None of your relatives are buried here, are they? Then what right do you have to prepare a tomb for yourself in this high place? Why are you cutting a tomb out of this rock?
New Living Translation
"Who do you think you are, and what are you doing here, building a beautiful tomb for yourself— a monument high up in the rock?
Update Bible Version
What do you have here? and whom do you have here, that you have hewed yourself out here a tomb? hewing himself out a tomb on high, graving a habitation for himself in the rock!
New Century Version
Say to him, ‘What are you doing here? Who said you could cut out a tomb for yourself here? Why are you preparing your tomb in a high place? Why are you carving out a tomb from the rock?
New English Translation
‘What right do you have to be here? What relatives do you have buried here? Why do you chisel out a tomb for yourself here? He chisels out his burial site in an elevated place, he carves out his tomb on a cliff.
Webster's Bible Translation
What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulcher here, [as] he that heweth him out a sepulcher on high, [and] that graveth a habitation for himself in a rock?
World English Bible
"What are you doing here? and who has you here, that you have hewed out a tomb here? Cutting him out a tomb on high, chiseling a habitation for himself in the rock!"
Amplified Bible
'What business do you have here? And whom do you have here, That you have hewn out a tomb here for yourself, You who hew a sepulcher on the height, You who carve a resting place for yourself in the rock?
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
What thou here, ethir as who here? for thou hast hewe to thee a sepulcre here, thou hast hewe a memorial in hiy place diligentli, a tabernacle in a stoon to thee.
English Revised Version
What doest thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out here a sepulchre? hewing him out a sepulchre on high, graving an habitation for himself in the rock!
Berean Standard Bible
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?
Contemporary English Version
Shebna, what gives you the right to have a tomb carved out of rock in this burial place of royalty? None of your relatives are buried here.
American Standard Version
What doest thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out here a sepulchre? hewing him out a sepulchre on high, graving a habitation for himself in the rock!
Bible in Basic English
Who are you, and by what right have you made for yourself a resting-place here?
Complete Jewish Bible
‘What do you own here, and who gave you the right to cut yourself a tomb here? Why do you get such an eminent tomb? Why are you carving a resting-place for yourself in the rock?'"
Darby Translation
What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewn thee out a sepulchre here, [as] he that heweth out his sepulchre on high, cutting out in the rock a habitation for himself?
JPS Old Testament (1917)
What hast thou here, and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out here a sepulchre, thou that hewest thee out a sepulchre on high, and gravest a habitation for thyself in the rock?
King James Version (1611)
What hast thou here? And whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, as hee that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, and that graueth an habitation for himselfe in a rocke?
New Life Bible
‘What right do you have here? Who told you that you could cut out a grave for yourself here? You cut out a grave on a high place! You cut a resting place for yourself in the rock!
New Revised Standard
What right do you have here? Who are your relatives here, that you have cut out a tomb here for yourself, cutting a tomb on the height, and carving a habitation for yourself in the rock?
Geneva Bible (1587)
What haste thou to doe here? and whome hast thou here? that thou shouldest here hewe thee out a sepulchre, as he that heweth out his sepulchre in an hie place, or that graueth an habitation for him selfe in a rocke?
George Lamsa Translation
What do you here? And what have you here, that you have hewn a tomb for yourself, as he who hews for himself a tomb on high and carves a habitation for himself in a rock?
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
What doest thou here? And whom hast thou here? That thou hast hewn for thyself here a sepulchre, - As one hewing on high his sepulchre, Cutting out in the cliff a habitation for himself?
Douay-Rheims Bible
What dost thou here, or as if thou wert somebody here? for thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, thou hast hewed out a monument carefully in a high place, a dwelling for thyself in a rock.
Revised Standard Version
What have you to do here and whom have you here, that you have hewn here a tomb for yourself, you who hew a tomb on the height, and carve a habitation for yourself in the rock?
Bishop's Bible (1568)
What hast thou to do here? and whom hast thou here? that thou shouldest here hewe thee out a sepulchree, as it were one that heweth hym out a sepulchree on hye, or that graueth an habitation for hym selfe on an harde rocke?
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
and what hast thou to do here, that thou hast here hewn thyself a sepulchre, and madest thyself a sepulchre on high, and hast graven for thyself a dwelling in the rock?
Good News Translation
"Who do you think you are? What right do you have to carve a tomb for yourself out of the rocky hillside?
Christian Standard Bible®
What are you doing here? Who authorized you to carve out a tomb for yourself here, carving your tomb on the height and cutting a resting place for yourself out of rock?
Hebrew Names Version
"What are you doing here? and who has you here, that you have hewed out a tomb here? Cutting him out a tomb on high, chiseling a habitation for himself in the rock!"
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?
Lexham English Bible
‘What business do you have here, and who do you have here, that you have cut a grave cutting here for yourself, carving his grave on the height, a dwelling place for him in the rock?
Literal Translation
What is to you here? And who is here to you, that you have carved a tomb for yourself here, as one having cut out his tomb on high, having carved out a home for himself in the rock?
Young's Literal Translation
What -- to thee here? And who -- to thee here? That thou hast hewn out to thee here -- a sepulchre? Hewing on high his sepulchre, Graving in a rock a dwelling for himself.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
What hast thou here to do? & from whece comest thou? that thou hast made the a graue here? For he had caused a costly tombe of stone to be made for himself, and a place to lye in to be hewen out of a rock.
New American Standard Bible
'What right do you have here, And whom do you have here, That you have cut out a tomb for yourself here, You who cut out a tomb on the height, You who carve a resting place for yourself in the rock?
New King James Version
"What have you here, and whom have you here, That you have hewn a sepulcher here, As he who hews himself a sepulcher on high, Who carves a tomb for himself in a rock?
New American Standard Bible (1995)
'What right do you have here, And whom do you have here, That you have hewn a tomb for yourself here, You who hew a tomb on the height, You who carve a resting place for yourself in the rock?
Legacy Standard Bible
‘What right do you have here,And whom do you have here,That you have hewn a tomb for yourself here,You who hew a tomb on the height,You who carve a dwelling place for yourself in the cliff?

Contextual Overview

15 Thus says the Lord God of hosts, "Come, go to this steward, to Shebna, who is over the household, and say to him: 16 What have you to do here, and whom have you here, that you have cut out here a tomb for yourself, you who cut out a tomb on the height and carve a dwelling for yourself in the rock? 17 Behold, the Lord will hurl you away violently, O you strong man. He will seize firm hold on you 18 and whirl you around and around, and throw you like a ball into a wide land. There you shall die, and there shall be your glorious chariots, you shame of your master's house. 19 I will thrust you from your office, and you will be pulled down from your station. 20 In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, 21 and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your sash on him, and will commit your authority to his hand. And he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. 22 And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. 23 And I will fasten him like a peg in a secure place, and he will become a throne of honor to his father's house. 24 And they will hang on him the whole honor of his father's house, the offspring and issue, every small vessel, from the cups to all the flagons.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

What hast: Isaiah 52:5, Micah 2:10

hewed: There are some monuments still remaining in Persia, of great antiquity, says Bp. Lowth, called Naksi Rustam, which give a clear idea of Shebna's pompous design for his sepulchre. They consist of several sepulchres, each of them hewn in a high rock near the top. The front of the rock to the valley below is adorned with carved work in relief, being the outside of the sepulchre. Some of these sepulchres are about thirty feet in the perpendicular from the valley, which is itself raised perhaps about half as much by the accumulation of the earth since they were made. Isaiah 14:18, 2 Samuel 18:18, 2 Chronicles 16:14, Job 3:14, Matthew 27:60

as he: or, O he

Reciprocal: Genesis 50:5 - I have Judges 18:3 - and what hast Isaiah 22:25 - the nail Mark 15:46 - hewn Luke 16:22 - and was buried John 11:38 - It was John 19:41 - and in

Cross-References

Genesis 12:2
And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
Genesis 22:13
And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.
Genesis 22:14
So Abraham called the name of that place, "The Lord will provide"; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided."
Psalms 105:9
the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac,
Isaiah 45:23
By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.'
Jeremiah 49:13
For I have sworn by myself, declares the Lord , that Bozrah shall become a horror, a taunt, a waste, and a curse, and all her cities shall be perpetual wastes."
Jeremiah 51:14
The Lord of hosts has sworn by himself: Surely I will fill you with men, as many as locusts, and they shall raise the shout of victory over you.
Amos 6:8
The Lord God has sworn by himself, declares the Lord , the God of hosts: "I abhor the pride of Jacob and hate his strongholds, and I will deliver up the city and all that is in it."
Luke 1:73
the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us

Gill's Notes on the Bible

What hast thou here?.... In the king's house, or in Jerusalem; what business hast thou here? thou art unworthy of such an office, nor shalt thou long continue in it; what inheritance hast thou here? thou art an alien from the commonwealth of Israel and hast no estate or possession in the land:

and whom hast thou here? of thy family and kindred; what ancestors hast thou? where did they live or die, and were buried? what children hast thou to succeed thee in honour and estate? or what relations to be interred, when deceased, in thy grave, that thou hast made such a provision as follows? and it may be observed, that wherever he is spoken of, the name of his father is never mentioned. Aben Ezra's gloss is, who hast thou here of thy family that can help thee? his fall and ruin being at hand:

that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here; in the city of Jerusalem, or near it; the Jews say x, among the sepulchres of the kings of the house of David; as if he thought to live and die here, and so had provided a sepulchre for himself and family, to lie in great pomp and splendour, like the kings and princes of the earth:

[as] he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, [and] that graveth an habitation for himself in a rock; where sepulchres, as well as palaces, used to be built; see Matthew 27:60 and great men, especially the Egyptians, used to build sepulchres like to palaces; though it may be observed, that the word "as" is not in the text; and the words may be understood of Shebna's hewing out a sepulchre in some high place near Jerusalem, and building a fine house upon a rock there; and which may design either one and the same thing, a grave or sepulchre being called a house, Job 30:23 or two different things, a sepulchre to be buried in when dead, and a palace to dwell in while living; and so the words may be rendered thus y, "O he that heweth himself", c. "O he that graveth an habitation", c. so the Syriac version, "O thou that hewest thy sepulchre on high", &c.

x T. Bab. Sanhedrin fol. 26. 2. y "O caedens, &c. O statuens", &c. Junius & Tremellius.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

What hast thou here? - This verse contains a severe repoof of the pride and ostentation of Shebna, and of his expectation that he would be buried where be had built his own tomb. It also contains an “implied” declaration that he would not be permitted to lie there, but would be removed to a distant land to be buried in some less honorable manner. It is probable that Isaiah met him when he was at the sepulchre which he had made, and addressed this language to him there: ‘What hast thou here? What right to expect that thou wilt be buried here, or why do you erect this splendid sepulchre, as if you were a holy man, and God would allow you to lie here?’ Probably his sepulchre had been erected among the sepulchres of holy people, and perhaps in some part of the royal burying place in Jerusalem.

And whom hast thou here? - Who among the dead that are entombed here are connected with you, that you should deem yourself entitled to lie with them? If this was the royal cemetery, these words might be designed to intimate that he had no connection with the royal family; and thus his building a tomb there was an evidence of vain glory, and of an attempt to occupy a place, even in death, to which he had no title.

That thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here - Sepulchres were hewn or cut out of rocks (see the note at Isaiah 14:9). It was usual also for princes and rich people to have their sepulchres or tombs constructed while they were themselves alive (see Matthew 27:60). Shebna was doubtless a man of humble birth, none of whose ancestors or family had been honored with a burial in the royal cemetery, and hence, the prophet reproves his pride in expecting to repose with the royal dead.

He that heweth him out a sepulchre on high - On some elevated place, that it might be more conspicuous. Thus Hezekiah 2 Chronicles 32:33 was buried ‘in the chiefest of the sepulchres of the sons of David.’ Hebrew, במעלה bema‛ălēh - ‘In the highest.’ Septuagint, Ἐν ἀναβάσει en anabasei. Such sepulchres are still found in Persia. They consist of several tombs, each hewn in a high rock near the top, the front of the rock being adorned with figures in relievo. ‘Sepulchres of this kind are remarkably exemplified in the very ancient tombs excavated in the cliffs of the mountain of sepulchres at Naksh-i-Roustan, a full description of which may be found in Sir Robert Ker Porter’s “Travels.” They are excavated in an almost perpendicular cliff of about 300 feet high. There are two rows, of which the uppermost are the most ancient and interesting, presenting highly sculptured fronts about fifty-three feet broad, crowned by a representation of an act of Sabean worship. To the lowest of them, which, however, he describes as not less than sixty feet from the ground, Sir Robert could gain access only by being drawn up by means of a rope fastened around his waist, by some active natives who had contrived to clamber up to the ledge in front of the tomb. These appear to be royal sepulchres, and probably not later than the time of the kings of Persia mentioned in Scripture.’ (“Pict. Bible.”) Two objects were probably contemplated by such sepulchres. One was security from desecration. The other was ostentation - sepulchres thus excavated furnishing an opportunity for the display of architectural taste in front, and being conspicuous objects. Such sepulchres are found at Petra (see the notes at Isaiah 16:1), and it is probable that Shebna sought this kind of immortality. - Many a man who has done nothing to deserve celebrity by his noble deeds while living, seeks it by the magnificence of his tomb.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 22:16. A sepulchre on high - in a rock — It has been observed before, on Isaiah 13:1, that persons of high rank in Judea, and in most parts of the east, were generally buried in large sepulchral vaults, hewn out in the rock for the use of themselves and their families. The vanity of Shebna is set forth by his being so studious and careful to have his sepulchre on high - in a lofty vault; and that probably in a high situation, that it might be more conspicuous. Hezekiah was buried, למעלה lemalah, εν αναβασει Sept.: in the chiefest, says our translation; rather, in the highest part of the sepulchres of the sons of David, to do him the more honour, 2 Chronicles 32:33. There are some monuments still remaining in Persia of great antiquity, called Naksi Rustam, which give one a clear idea of Shebna's pompous design for his sepulchre. They consist of several sepulchres, each of them hewn in a high rock near the top; the front of the rock to the valley below is adorned with carved work in relievo, being the outside of the sepulchre. Some of these sepulchres are about thirty feet in the perpendicular from the valley, which is itself perhaps raised above half as much by the accumulation of the earth since they were made. See the description of them in Chardin, Pietro della Valle, Thevenot, and Kempfer. Diodorus Siculus, lib. xvii., mentions these ancient monuments, and calls them the sepulchres of the kings of Persia. - L.


 
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