12. They found 400 young women in Jabesh Gilead who had never made love to a man. So they took them to the camp at Shiloh in Canaan.
13. Then the whole community sent an offer of peace to the men of Benjamin. The men were at the rock of Rimmon.
14. So the men of Benjamin returned at that time. They were given the women of Jabesh Gilead who had been spared. But there weren't enough women for all of them.
15. The people were very sad because of what had happened to the tribe of Benjamin. The Lord had left a gap in the tribes of Israel. They weren't complete without Benjamin.
16. The elders of the community spoke up. They said, "All of the women of Benjamin have been wiped out. So how will we find wives for the men who are left?
17. The men of Benjamin who are still alive need to have children," they said. "If they don't, a tribe of Israel will be wiped out.