They did all this; still Laban would not let them have the plates. But when he saw how great was the value of the property which they offered him, he coveted it; for he was a wicked man, filled with greed and covetousness. So he thrust the brothers out of his house and kept their property. Not content with this he sent his servants after them to slay them. But the servants did not overtake them, for Nephi and his brothers outran them and hid themselves in a cave in the wilderness outside of the walls of the city. Laman and Lemuel were now furious at their lack of success. In their anger they said many hard things to Sam and Nephi, and moreover they beat them with a rod. While thus engaged an angel of the Lord stood before them and rebuked them for their cruel treatment of their younger brothers. He further told them to go up to Jerusalem once again, and Laban should be delivered into their hands. Even though an angel from heaven had appeared to them, Laman and Lemuel still murmured and did not want to go back to the house of Laban. But after some persuasion from Nephi they reluctantly followed him. His faith had made him their leader, which position he ever afterwards held. Nephi caused his brethren to hide themselves without the walls, and then went forward alone, not knowing exactly where he was going, but suffering himself to be guided by the Spirit of the Lord. It was now night. When near the house of Laban he came across a man lying in a drunken stupor on the ground. It proved to be Laban himself. The Spirit of the Lord now directed Nephi to slay Laban, telling him that it was better that one man should die than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief. This the Nephites undoubtedly would have done had they not had the law of the Lord with them; and this law was engraved on these plates. As we proceed we shall find that both the Lamanites and the people of Zarahemla sank in sin and dwindled in unbelief from this very cause,--they had no Divine records. For all that the Spirit thus prompted, still Nephi felt loath to slay Laban, although he had robbed him and his brothers of their father's property and sought to take their lives. But at last he obeyed the voice of the Spirit, and drawing Laban's own sword from its sheath, with it he smote off this wicked man's head. Nephi next removed Laban's armor from the dead body and put it on his own person; he also took the sword of Laban and girded it around his waist. Then he went to the dead man's house, and, imitating Laban's voice, he commanded the servant who had the keys of the room where the records were kept to go with him and get them. The servant, whose name was Zoram, obeyed, and brought forth the records, for in the darkness, he thought it was his master who was talking to him.