⁹ Then Samuel^(A) took a suckling lamb and sacrificed it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out to the Lord on Israel’s behalf, and the Lord answered him.^(B)

15 Then the Lord said to me: “Even if Moses^(A) and Samuel^(B) were to stand before me, my heart would not go out to this people.^(C) Send them away from my presence!^(D) Let them go!

¹⁷ But he always went back to Ramah,^(A) where his home was, and there he also held court^(B) for Israel. And he built an altar^(C) there to the Lord.

¹⁶ Therefore confess your sins^(A) to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.^(B) The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.^(C)

² But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”

The Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’

³⁰ Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar^(A) of the Lord, which had been torn down. ³¹ Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.”^{(B) 32} With the stones he built an altar in the name^(C) of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs^[a] of seed. ³³ He arranged^(D) the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”

³⁴ “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.

“Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. ³⁵ The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.

³⁶ At the time^(E) of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham,^(F) Isaac and Israel, let it be known^(G) today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.^{(H) 37} Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know^(I) that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”

³⁸ Then the fire^(J) of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.

⁸ “Go down ahead of me to Gilgal.^(A) I will surely come down to you to sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, but you must wait seven^(B) days until I come to you and tell you what you are to do.”