14
The Benjaminites came back, and the other Israelites gave them the young women from Jabesh whom they had not killed. But there were not enough of them.
15
The people felt sorry for the Benjaminites because the Lord had broken the unity of the tribes of Israel.
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So the leaders of the gathering said, "There are no more women in the tribe of Benjamin. What shall we do to provide wives for the men who are left?
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Israel must not lose one of its twelve tribes. We must find a way for the tribe of Benjamin to survive,
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but we cannot allow them to marry our daughters, because we have put a curse on anyone who allows a Benjaminite to marry one of our daughters."
19
Then they thought, "The yearly festival of the Lord at Shiloh is coming soon." (Shiloh is north of Bethel, south of Lebonah, and east of the road between Bethel and Shechem.)
20
They told the Benjaminites, "Go and hide in the vineyards
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and watch. When the young women of Shiloh come out to dance during the festival, you come out of the vineyards. Each of you take a wife by force from among them and take her back to the territory of Benjamin with you.
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If their fathers or brothers come to you and protest, you can tell them, "Please let us keep them, because we did not take them from you in battle to be our wives. And since you did not give them to us, you are not guilty of breaking your promise.' "
23
The Benjaminites did this; each of them chose a wife from the young women who were dancing at Shiloh and carried her away. Then they went back to their own territory, rebuilt their towns, and lived there.
24
At the same time the rest of the Israelites left, and every man went back to his own tribe and family and to his own property.