5 And it came to pass that the king caused that his guards should surround Abinadi and take him; and they bound him and cast him into prison.
6 And after three days, having counseled with his priests, he caused that he should again be brought before him.
7 And he said unto him: Abinadi, we have found an accusation against thee, and thou art worthy of death.
8 For thou hast said that God himself should come down among the children of men; and now, for this cause thou shalt be put to death unless thou wilt recall all the words which thou hast spoken evil concerning me and my people.
Mosiah 17:5-8 (Emphasis mine)
Abinadi is cast into prison for three days. Then, he's brought before the King again. He's guilty and sentenced to death because he said that "... God himself should come down among the children of men ..." He was then told to recant this as this was the reason he was sentenced to death. Oh, and by the way, since we're talking about it, take back the words you said about me and my people.
Why the three day delay? We could have been looking at Here's a possible reason.
"Fifty days after Passover on the ancient Israelite calendar was the festival of Pentecost or Shavuot ('Weeks'), which the law of Moses required the children of Israel to observe (see Exodus 23:16). Recent research has probed the possibility that Abinadi delivered his prophetic message in the city of Nephi on this festive occasion ... the story of Abinadi in Mosiah 11-17 now comes vividly to life. Consider the following points:
"1. Timing would have been important to Abinadi. He had already been expelled once from the city, two years earlier (see Mosiah 11:28-12:1). His reentry on a festival day would have given him a ready audience.
"2. Both of Abinadi's speeches deal with the themes of Pentecost. He reversed the festival's blessings and rejoicing, and turned them into curses and predictions of gloom. At the time when a bounteous grain season would have been at hand, Abinadi cursed the crops: he prophesied that hail, dry winds, and insects shall ruin 'their grain' (Mosiah 12:6) ... Abinadi called upon Exodus terminology to proclaim that bondage and burdens would return to the wicked people in the city of Nephi: "They shall be brought into bondage; . . . and none shall deliver them" (Mosiah 11:21, 23), "and I will cause that they shall have burdens lashed upon their backs" (Mosiah 12:2, 5; compare Exodus 1:11).
"3. At precisely the time when Noah's priests would have been hypocritically pledging allegiance to the Ten Commandments (and indeed they professed to teach the law of Moses; see Mosiah 12:27), Abinadi rehearsed to them those very commandments (see Mosiah 12:33). On any other day this might have seemed a strange defense for a man on trial for his life, but not on Pentecost—the day on which the Ten Commandments were on center stage ...
"6. The ancient festival appears to have been a three-day event (see Exodus 19:11), which may explain why Abinadi's trial was postponed for 'three days.' " (Mosiah 17:6).(Emphasis mine)
7 The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him.
Proverbs 20:7 (Emphasis mine)
11 And now king Noah was about to release him, for he feared his word; for he feared that the judgments of God would come upon him.
12 But the priests lifted up their voices against him, and began to accuse him, saying: He has reviled the king. Therefore the king was stirred up in anger against him, and he delivered him up that he might be slain.
13 And it came to pass that they took him and bound him, and scourged his skin with faggots, yea, even unto death.
12 But the priests lifted up their voices against him, and began to accuse him, saying: He has reviled the king. Therefore the king was stirred up in anger against him, and he delivered him up that he might be slain.
13 And it came to pass that they took him and bound him, and scourged his skin with faggots, yea, even unto death.
Mosiah 17:11-13 (Emphasis mine)
Then the priests find out. That doesn't make them very happy. They want Abinadi dead. So, the kissed up to the king and reminded him of all the things he said about him. Then the King became angry and demanded he die.
Hugh Nibley writes:
"Then Noah changed his mind. He wanted to let him go now. He didn't like it, and he was afraid of him. He feared the judgment of God would come upon him. Now this is interesting. Noah feared God? This man? Yes, he did. Remember, he considered himself the leader of religious [people]. By [their] standards, he was a righteous man. Remember, in Mosiah 12:13–15, they say he hasn't done anything wrong. They say, 'And now, O king, what great evil hast thou done, or what great sins have thy people committed, that we should be condemned of God or judged of this man? And now, O king, behold, we are guiltless, and thou, O king, hast not sinned; therefore, this man has lied concerning you, and he has prophesied in vain. And behold, we are strong, we shall not come into bondage, or be taken captive by our enemies; yea, and thou hast prospered in the land, and thou also shalt prosper.' That proves you shall also prosper, so you're righteous. Because we're prosperous, we're victorious and everything else. They really believed that.
"So what's wrong with King Noah? He was a very popular king. He put on a great show, and the people loved him. This is a very interesting thing about Noah. He was worried, and he wanted to do the right thing here. He was afraid because he knew darn well that Abinadi was right, and he wanted to let him go. But, notice what happened. The priests wouldn't let him out ... the king wanted to give up. He recognized Abinadi, but the priests wouldn't let him do it. Verse 12: 'But the priests lifted up their voices against him . . . saying: He has reviled against the king.' They were putting it on the king to make him responsible. He's reviled against you. You can't deny your office. You can't deny that you're the king, and he has reviled against you [paraphrased]. They were forcing him to put Abinadi to death, to defend the kingly office and keep his royal dignity. 'He has reviled the king. Therefore the king was stirred up in anger against them, and he delivered him up that he might be slain [they put it all onto the king, but it was the priests again].' " (Emphasis mine)
Noah was intimidated and desired to release Abinadi. The priests, however, accused Abinadi of a fourth crime, that of reviling against the king (Mosiah 17:12; Ex. 22:28). On this ground Noah condemned Abinadi, and his priestly accusers scourged and burned him. It was normal under Mosaic law for the accusers to inflict the punishment, but burning was an extraordinary form of execution. It mirrored Abinadi's alleged crime: he was burned just as he had said Noah's life would be valued as a garment in a furnace. As Abinadi died, he prophesied that the same fate would befall his accusers. This prophecy was soon fulfilled (Mosiah 17:15—18; 19:20; Alma 25:7—12)." (Emphasis mine)
Abinadi, Lew W. Cramer, Maxwell Institute, Accessed July 16, 2011.
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