Why Have You Forsaken Me?

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

Jeremiah's Letter to the Exiles

29 These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to ^(A)the surviving elders of the exiles, and to ^(B)the priests, ^(C)the prophets, and ^(D)all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.

⁴ “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: ^5 (A)Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. ⁶ Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. ⁷ But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and ^(B)pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. ⁸ For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^(C)Do not let your prophets and ^(D)your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream,^{[a] 9} for ^(E)it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; ^(F)I did not send them, declares the Lord.

¹⁰ “For thus says the Lord: ^(G)When seventy years are completed for Babylon, ^(H)I will visit you, ^(I)and I will fulfill to you my promise ^(J)and bring you back to this place. ^11 (K)For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare^[b] and not for evil, ^(L)to give you a future and a hope. ^12 (M)Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, ^(N)and I will hear you. ^13 (O)You will seek me and find me, when you seek me ^(P)with all your heart.

¹³ Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as ^(A)I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry ¹⁴ in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and ^(B)thus save some of them. ¹⁵ For if their rejection means ^(C)the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? ^16 (D)If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

¹⁷ But if ^(E)some of the branches were broken off, and you, ^(F)although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root^[a] of the olive tree, ¹⁸ do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. ¹⁹ Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” ²⁰ That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you ^(G)stand fast through faith. So ^(H)do not become proud, but ^(I)fear. ²¹ For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. ²² Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, ^(J)provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise ^(K)you too will be cut off. ²³ And ^(L)even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. ²⁴ For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.

The Death of Lazarus

11 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of ^(A)Mary and her sister Martha. ^2 (B)It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. ³ So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, ^(C)he whom you love is ill.” ⁴ But when Jesus heard it he said, ^(D)“This illness does not lead to death. It is for ^(E)the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

⁵ Now ^(F)Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶ So, when he heard that Lazarus^[a] was ill, ^(G)he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. ⁷ Then after this he said to the disciples, ^(H)“Let us go to Judea again.” ⁸ The disciples said to him, ^(I)“Rabbi, ^(J)the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” ⁹ Jesus answered, ^(K)“Are there not twelve hours in the day? ^(L)If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. ¹⁰ But ^(M)if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not ^(N)in him.” ¹¹ After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus ^(O)has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” ¹² The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” ¹³ Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. ¹⁴ Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, ¹⁵ and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” ^16 (P)So Thomas, called the Twin,^[b] said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, ^(Q)that we may die with him.”

I Am the Resurrection and the Life

¹⁷ Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb ^(R)four days. ¹⁸ Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles^[c] off, ¹⁹ and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary ^(S)to console them concerning their brother. ^20 (T)So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. ²¹ Martha said to ^(U)Jesus, “Lord, ^(V)if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, ^(W)God will give you.” ²³ Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” ^24 (X)Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in ^(Y)the resurrection on the last day.” ²⁵ Jesus said to her, ^(Z)“I am the resurrection and ^(AA)the life.^[d] Whoever believes in me, ^(AB)though he die, ^(AC)yet shall he live, ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in me ^(AD)shall never die. Do you believe this?” ²⁷ She said to him, “Yes, Lord; ^(AE)I believe that ^(AF)you are the Christ, the Son of God, ^(AG)who is coming into the world.”