⁹ And Samuel took a ^(A)suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. Then ^(B)Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him.

The Lord Will Not Relent

15 Then the Lord said to me, ^(A)“Even if ^(B)Moses and ^(C)Samuel stood before Me, My ^[a]mind would not be favorable toward this people. Cast them out of My sight, and let them go forth.

¹⁷ But ^(A)he always returned to Ramah, for his home was there. There he judged Israel, and there he ^(B)built an altar to the Lord.

^16 [a]Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. ^(A)The effective, ^[b]fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

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

But the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ^(A)‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’

³⁰ Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. ^(A)And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. ³¹ And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, ^(B)“Israel shall be your name.” ³² Then with the stones he built an altar ^(C)in the name of the Lord; and he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed. ³³ And he ^(D)put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, “Fill four waterpots with water, and ^(E)pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood.” ³⁴ Then he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time; and he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time. ³⁵ So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled ^(F)the trench with water.

³⁶ And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “Lord ^(G)God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, ^(H)let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that ^(I)I have done all these things at Your word. ³⁷ Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.”

³⁸ Then ^(J)the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench.

⁸ You shall go down before me ^(A)to Gilgal; and surely I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and make sacrifices of peace offerings. ^(B)Seven days you shall wait, till I come to you and show you what you should do.”