The two brothers finally recognized that the judgments of God were upon them, and loosened the bands of Nephi (v. 15). The character of Nephi once more shines forth as he praises the Lord in spite of the physical afflictions brought upon him by his brothers. The rebellious sons again do not honor their parents, nor do the sufferings of the children and women soften their hearts (vv. 17–19). Only the fear of destruction by the power of God brought them to repentance, and as will be shown later, their sorrow was not “godly sorrow [that] worketh repentance to salvation” as defined by Paul (2 Corinthians 7:10).