Nephi again confirms the impending destruction of Jerusalem, and the leading of a few more righteous out of the land into captivity (vv. 43). At least a partial fulfillment of this prophecy that Nephi may be quoting came after the downfall of Jerusalem.
21 And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city is smitten. [Ezekiel 33:21]
Ezekiel had been carried away with thousands of others about eleven years before Jerusalem was destroyed. The people carried into captivity were not yet ripe in iniquity and were not destroyed, but they were not righteous enough to be led to a land of freedom. Lehi and his people were righteous enough to be given a choice land of promise. Jeremiah was told by the Lord:
1 Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.
2 And though they say, The LORD liveth; surely they swear falsely. [Jeremiah 5:1–2]
Jerusalem becoming ripe in iniquity is certainly indicated by the Lord’s offer to Jeremiah. Although Lehi may not have left the area before the above decree was given, he did not live in Jerusalem or “in the broad places thereof.” Before his sons made their second attempt to obtain the plates of brass from Laban; they “went down to the land of our inheritance, and we did gather together our gold, and our silver, and our precious things. And after we had gathered these things together, we went up again unto the house of Laban” (1 Nephi 3:22–23; italics added).
The wickedness of Laman and Lemuel (1 Nephi 17: 44–45) raises the question of why they were brought out to a land of promise? Nephi describes them as “like unto the Jews” at the time of their leaving (1 Nephi 2:13), and they certainly did not change. They had “heard his voice from time to time,” both the “still small voice,” and in power “like unto the voice of thunder” (vv. 45–46), but they were beyond the feeling of the Spirit. Nephi had spoken under the inspiration of the Spirit of God to the extent that he feared they would be cast off forever (v. 47). They had probably been brought out because of the righteousness of their parents and to be given a further chance to repent.