In an effort to try and fix the breach, the most senior members of the congregation—the elders—bring their wisdom
to bear on the situation. But all they can do at first is simply restate the problem: how can we provide wives for the remaining Benjamites, since we have taken the oath? This is the basic thrust of Judges 21:16–18). It is as though they have currently run out of ideas, and are faced with a problem that is now more unsolvable than before.
16 Then the elders of the congregation said, “What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?”