John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 22:16

"What doest thou here? and whom has 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!" — Isaiah 22:16 (ASV)

What have you here? Shebna had built a tomb in Jerusalem, as if he were to live there continually and die there.

The Prophet therefore asks why he built such a splendid and costly tomb in a lofty and conspicuous place, as is commonly done by those who wish to perpetuate the memory of their name in the world.

He seems to allude to the ambition of a foreigner and a stranger, who longed to be so magnificently buried outside his own country, and yet eagerly joined with enemies for the destruction of Judea.

What could have been more foolish than to erect a monument in that country for whose ruin he was plotting? And therefore he adds—