Why Have You Forsaken Me?

To the choirmaster: according to The Doe of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.

Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida

²² And they came ^(A)to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. ²³ And ^(B)he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when ^(C)he had ^(D)spit on his eyes and ^(E)laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” ²⁴ And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” ²⁵ Then Jesus^[a] laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. ²⁶ And he sent him to his home, saying, ^(F)“Do not even enter the village.”

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

^27 (G)And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” ²⁸ And they told him, ^(H)“John the Baptist; and others say, ^(I)Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” ²⁹ And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, ^(J)“You are ^(K)the Christ.” ^30 (L)And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

^31 (M)And he began to teach them that ^(N)the Son of Man must ^(O)suffer many things and ^(P)be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and ^(Q)after three days rise again. ³² And he said this ^(R)plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ³³ But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, ^(S)“Get behind me, Satan! For you ^(T)are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

³⁴ And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him ^(U)deny himself and ^(V)take up his cross and follow me. ³⁵ For ^(W)whoever would save his life^[b] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake ^(X)and the gospel's will save it. ^36 (Y)For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? ³⁷ For ^(Z)what can a man give in return for his soul? ³⁸ For ^(AA)whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this ^(AB)adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed ^(AC)when he comes in the glory of his Father with ^(AD)the holy angels.”

Daniel's Vision of the Four Beasts

7 In the first year of ^(A)Belshazzar king of Babylon, ^(B)Daniel saw a dream and ^(C)visions of his head as he lay in his bed. Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter. ² Daniel declared,^[a] “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, ^(D)the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. ³ And four great beasts ^(E)came up out of the sea, different from one another. ⁴ The first was like a lion and had eagles' wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it. ⁵ And behold, ^(F)another beast, a second one, like a bear. It was raised up on one side. It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told, ‘Arise, devour much flesh.’ ⁶ After this I looked, and behold, another, like a ^(G)leopard, with four wings of a bird on its back. And the beast had four heads, and ^(H)dominion was given to it. ⁷ After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, ^(I)terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; ^(J)it devoured and broke in pieces ^(K)and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and ^(L)it had ten horns. ⁸ I considered the horns, and behold, ^(M)there came up among them another horn, a little one, ^(N)before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and ^(O)a mouth speaking great things.

The Ancient of Days Reigns

⁹ “As I looked,

¹¹ “I looked then because of the sound of ^(AB)the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, ^(AC)the beast was killed, and its body destroyed ^(AD)and given over to be burned with fire. ¹² As for the rest of the beasts, ^(AE)their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.

The Son of Man Is Given Dominion

¹³ “I saw in the night visions,

Daniel's Vision Interpreted

¹⁵ “As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me^[b] was anxious, and ^(AK)the visions of my head alarmed me. ¹⁶ I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of the things. ^17 (AL)‘These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. ¹⁸ But ^(AM)the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.’

¹⁹ “Then I desired to know the truth about ^(AN)the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrifying, with its teeth of iron and claws of bronze, and which devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet, ^20 (AO)and about the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn that came up and before which three of them fell, the horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke great things, and that seemed greater than its companions. ²¹ As I looked, this horn ^(AP)made war with the saints and prevailed over them, ²² until the ^(AQ)Ancient of Days came, and ^(AR)judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when ^(AS)the saints possessed the kingdom.

²³ “Thus he said: ‘As for ^(AT)the fourth beast,

²⁸ “Here is the end of the matter. ^(BD)As for me, Daniel, my ^(BE)thoughts greatly alarmed me, ^(BF)and my color changed, but ^(BG)I kept the matter in my heart.”

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

6 ^(A)He went away from there and came to ^(B)his hometown, and his disciples followed him. ² And ^(C)on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and ^(D)many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? ^3 (E)Is not this ^(F)the carpenter,^[a] the son of Mary and ^(G)brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And ^(H)they took offense at him. ⁴ And Jesus said to them, ^(I)“A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” ⁵ And ^(J)he could do no mighty work there, except that ^(K)he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. ⁶ And ^(L)he marveled because of their unbelief.

^(M)And he went about among the villages teaching.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles

^7 (N)And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. ⁸ He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— ⁹ but to ^(O)wear sandals and not put on two tunics.^{[b] 10} And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. ¹¹ And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, ^(P)shake off the dust that is on your feet ^(Q)as a testimony against them.” ^12 (R)So they went out and ^(S)proclaimed ^(T)that people should repent. ^13 (U)And they cast out many demons and ^(V)anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.

The Death of John the Baptist

^14 (W)King Herod heard of it, for Jesus'^[c] name had become known. Some^[d] said, ^(X)“John the Baptist^[e] has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” ^15 (Y)But others said, “He is Elijah.” And others said, “He is ^(Z)a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” ¹⁶ But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” ^17 (AA)For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and ^(AB)bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because he had married her. ^18 (AC)For John had been saying to Herod, ^(AD)“It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife.” ¹⁹ And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, ²⁰ for Herod ^(AE)feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he ^(AF)heard him gladly.

²¹ But an opportunity came when Herod ^(AG)on his birthday ^(AH)gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. ²² For when Herodias's daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.” ²³ And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, ^(AI)up to half of my kingdom.” ²⁴ And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” ²⁵ And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” ²⁶ And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. ²⁷ And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John's^[f] head. He went and beheaded him in the prison ²⁸ and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. ²⁹ When his ^(AJ)disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

^30 (AK)(AL)The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. ³¹ And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and ^(AM)they had no leisure even to eat. ^32 (AN)And they went away in ^(AO)the boat to a desolate place by themselves. ³³ Now many saw them going and ^(AP)recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. ³⁴ When he went ashore he ^(AQ)saw a great crowd, and ^(AR)he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. ³⁵ And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. ^36 (AS)Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” ³⁷ But he answered them, ^(AT)“You give them something to eat.” And ^(AU)they said to him, ^(AV)“Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii^[g] worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” ³⁸ And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, ^(AW)“Five, and two fish.” ³⁹ Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰ So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. ⁴¹ And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he ^(AX)looked up to heaven and ^(AY)said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. ⁴² And they all ate and were satisfied. ⁴³ And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. ⁴⁴ And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.

Jesus Walks on the Water

^45 (AZ)Immediately he ^(BA)made his disciples get into ^(BB)the boat and go before him to the other side, ^(BC)to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. ⁴⁶ And after he had taken leave of them, ^(BD)he went up on the mountain to pray. ⁴⁷ And when ^(BE)evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. ⁴⁸ And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about ^(BF)the fourth watch of the night^[h] he came to them, walking on the sea. ^(BG)He meant to pass by them, ⁴⁹ but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, ⁵⁰ for they all saw him and ^(BH)were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, ^(BI)“Take heart; it is I. ^(BJ)Do not be afraid.” ⁵¹ And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, ⁵² for ^(BK)they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts ^(BL)were hardened.

Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret

^53 (BM)When they had crossed over, they came to land at ^(BN)Gennesaret and moored to the shore. ⁵⁴ And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately ^(BO)recognized him ⁵⁵ and ran about the whole region and began to bring ^(BP)the sick people ^(BQ)on their beds to wherever they heard he was. ⁵⁶ And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, ^(BR)they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even ^(BS)the fringe of his garment. And ^(BT)as many as touched it were made well.

⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man came not to be served but ^(A)to serve, and ^(B)to give his life as a ransom for ^(C)many.”

1 The ^(A)vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem ^(B)in the days of ^(C)Uzziah, ^(D)Jotham, ^(E)Ahaz, and ^(F)Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

The Wickedness of Judah

The Unfaithful City