Abinadi applies his prophetic message of coming calamities directly to the priests, declaring that Yahweh condemns them. Abinadi may not understand that these priests will escape some of the bondage and oppression from the Lamanites that the people will suffer; but their ultimate punishment will be at Yahweh’s hand.
Rhetoric: Abinadi uses the priests’ tactic of laying a verbal trap by asking if salvation comes through the law of Moses. This question goes to the crux of their apostasy. He knows that salvation comes only through the Messiah and also knows that this was the original religious understanding of these priests. However, like Sherem, they have altered the teachings, eliminating the Messiah as savior and privileging the law of Moses (Jacob 7:2).