Isaiah 22:15–19, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Isaiah 22:15–19
Shebna's Monumental Ambition Ends in Removal
Shebna is found cutting a tomb as if the rock were his forever
Thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna, which is over the house, and say, 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?
The steward's offense is monumental self-placement: a high grave in the rock while holding the king's house. Ambition dresses as memorial. The unit is not war propaganda and not a model of imperial violence; it is the removal of a proud official.
The LORD whirls him away, and the office is stripped
Behold, the LORD will carry thee away with a mighty captivity, and will surely cover thee. He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country: there shalt thou die, and there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy lord's house. And I will drive thee from thy station, and from thy state shall he pull thee down.
Exile, death in a wide land, and shame of ceremonial chariots end the career. Present-enemy mapping would miss Shebna. Nationalism cannot hide in his tomb. The pull-down is the LORD's judgment on office-as-monument.
How this should shape us
Do not carve your name into the institution as if the rock were yours. Hold keys without building a private skyline. A modern resume tomb is still a sepulchre on high.
Teach it back
Explain Isaiah 22:15–19 in your own words. Name its place in Isaiah, one source-controlled observation, one uncertainty, one enduring truth, and one harmful use the passage does not authorize.
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Isaiah 22:15–19, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
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Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Isa.xml, OSIS 22:15–19 with Hebrew/KJV versification difference checked
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Official NET Isaiah PDF, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Isaiah 22:15–19 in the complete 205-page book PDF
Supports: Eighth-century Assyrian setting, Isaiah traditions, later growth, justice, Zion, signs, royal language, nations, and policy, with proposals kept visible.
Yale Bible Study, First Isaiah course, Historical Context and nation-oracle framing; applied to Isaiah 22:15–19
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Enter the Bible Isaiah course, Outline Book 1B, Background, and Theological Themes on the nations; applied to Isaiah 22:15–19
Sources for This Section
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Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
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Exact location: Isaiah 22:15–19, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Isaiah
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
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Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Isa.xml, OSIS 22:15–19 with Hebrew/KJV versification difference checked
Open the fixed Hebrew Isaiah file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Isaiah
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2016; current official PDF
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Exact location: Official NET Isaiah PDF, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Isaiah 22:15–19 in the complete 205-page book PDF
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First Isaiah study-guide course
John J. Collins and Joel S. Baden
Yale Bible Study, 2020; current public course
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Isaiah course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, themes, and reception
Fred Gaiser; revised by Michael Chan
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised August 2024
Supports: Whole-book historical, literary, theological, ethical, and reception synthesis across Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, and postexilic horizons.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Isaiah course, Outline Book 1B, Background, and Theological Themes on the nations; applied to Isaiah 22:15–19
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