8. Then they asked, “Which one of the tribes of Israel did not come here to Mizpah?” They found that no one from the city of Jabesh Gilead was there.
9. The people of Israel counted everyone, but no one from Jabesh Gilead was there.
10. So the whole group of Israelites sent 12,000 soldiers to Jabesh Gilead. They told the soldiers to kill the people in Jabesh Gilead with their swords. Even the women and children were to be killed.
11. “This is what you must do: Kill every man in Jabesh Gilead. Also kill every woman who is not a virgin.”
12. The soldiers found 400 young women in Jabesh Gilead who were virgins. They brought these women to the camp at Shiloh in Canaan.
13. Then the whole group of Israelites sent a message to the men of Benjamin. They offered to make peace with them. The men of Benjamin were at the rock of Rimmon.
14. So the men of Benjamin came back at that time. The Israelites gave them the women from Jabesh Gilead who had not been killed. But there were not enough women for all of them.
15. The people of Israel felt sorry for the Benjaminites. This was because the Lord had separated the tribes of Israel.
16. The elders of the Israelites spoke. They said, “The women of Benjamin have been killed. Where can we get wives for the men of Benjamin who are still alive?
17. These men must have children to continue their families. This is so a tribe in Israel will not die out.
18. But we cannot allow our daughters to marry them. We have made this promise: ‘Anyone who gives a wife to a man of Benjamin is cursed.’
19. We have an idea! There is a yearly festival of the Lord at Shiloh. Shiloh is north of the city of Bethel. It is east of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem. And it is south of the city of Lebonah.”
20. So the elders told the men of Benjamin about their idea. They said, “Go and hide in the vineyards.