When Nephi finished speaking, some men in the crowd ran to the judgment seat. Five of them went, and they talked among themselves as they ran:
“Now we will know for sure whether this man is a prophet and God commanded him to prophesy these amazing things. We don’t believe he is a prophet. But if what he said about the chief judge being dead is true, then we will believe his other words are true.”
They ran as fast as they could and came to the judgment seat. The chief judge had fallen to the ground and was lying in his blood.
When they saw this, they were so amazed that they fell to the ground. They had not believed Nephi’s words about the chief judge.
But now when they saw it, they believed. Fear came upon them that all the judgments Nephi had spoken would come upon the people. They trembled and fell to the ground.
The judge had just been murdered. He was stabbed by his brother, who was disguised in secret clothing, and then fled. The servants ran and told the people, raising the cry of murder among them.
The people gathered together at the judgment seat. To their astonishment, they saw those five men who had fallen to the ground.
The people knew nothing about the crowd that had gathered at Nephi’s garden. They said among themselves: “These men must have murdered the judge, and God struck them down so they could not escape from us.”
They grabbed them, tied them up, and threw them into prison. A proclamation was sent out that the judge was killed, and that the murderers had been caught and thrown into prison.
The next day, the people gathered to mourn and fast at the burial of the great chief judge who had been killed.
Those judges who had been at Nephi’s garden and heard his words also gathered at the burial.
They asked among the people: “Where are the five who were sent to check whether the chief judge was dead?” The people answered: “We don’t know about any five you sent. But there are five murderers we have thrown into prison.”
The judges asked that they be brought. When they were brought in, the five men who had been sent were standing there. The judges questioned them about the matter, and they told them everything they had done, saying:
“We ran to the judgment seat, and when we saw everything just as Nephi testified, we were so amazed that we fell to the ground. When we recovered from our astonishment, they threw us into prison.”
“As for who murdered this man, we don’t know. We only know this: we ran there as you asked, and he was dead, just as Nephi said.”
The judges explained the matter to the people and cried out against Nephi, saying: “We know this Nephi must have made an agreement with someone to kill the judge. Then he could declare it to us, to convert us to his faith, so he could raise himself up to be a great man, chosen by God as a prophet.”
“Now we will catch this man, and he will confess his fault and reveal to us the true murderer of this judge.”
The five men were freed on the day of the burial. But they rebuked the judges for their words against Nephi and argued with them one by one until they confounded them.
But they still caused Nephi to be taken, bound, and brought before the crowd. They began questioning him in many different ways to trip him up so they could accuse him and put him to death.
They said to him: “You are in on it. Who is this man that committed this murder? Tell us and confess your guilt. Look, here is money, and we will spare your life if you tell us and admit the agreement you made with him.”
But Nephi said to them: “You fools, you hard-hearted people, you blind and stubborn people, do you know how long the Lord your God will allow you to continue in this sinful way?”
“You should begin to cry and mourn, because of the great destruction that awaits you right now, unless you repent.”
“You say I made an agreement with a man to murder Seezoram, our chief judge. But I say to you, this is because I testified to you so you might know about this thing. It is a witness to you that I knew about the wickedness and evil among you.”
“Because I have done this, you say I made an agreement with a man to do this thing. Because I showed you this sign, you are angry with me and seek to destroy my life.”
“Now I will show you another sign, and see if you will seek to destroy me for this too.”
“I say to you: Go to the house of Seantum, who is the brother of Seezoram, and say to him:”
“’Has Nephi, the supposed prophet who prophesies so much evil about this people, made an agreement with you to murder Seezoram, your brother?’”
“He will say to you, ‘No.’”
“Then you will say to him: ‘Have you murdered your brother?’”
“He will stand there with fear and not know what to say. He will deny it to you and will act astonished. But he will claim he is innocent.”
“But you will examine him, and you will find blood on the edge of his cloak.”
“When you see this, you will say: ‘Where did this blood come from? Don’t we know it is your brother’s blood?’”
“Then he will tremble and look pale, as if death had come upon him.”
“Then you will say: ‘Because of this fear and paleness on your face, we know you are guilty.’”
“Then greater fear will come upon him, and then he will confess to you and stop denying that he committed this murder.”
“Then he will say to you that I, Nephi, know nothing about the matter except what was given to me by the power of God. Then you will know I am an honest man, and that I am sent to you from God.”
They went and did exactly as Nephi told them. The words he had said were true. Seantum first denied it just as predicted, and then confessed just as predicted.
He was proven to be the actual murderer, so the five men were set free, and Nephi was also freed.
Some of the Nephites believed Nephi’s words. Some also believed because of the testimony of the five men, for they had been converted while they were in prison.
Some among the people said that Nephi was a prophet.
Others said: “He is a god, for unless he was a god, he could not know all things. He has told us the thoughts of our hearts, and he has told us things. He has even revealed to us the true murderer of our chief judge.”