Judges 21:22
And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come unto us to complain, that we will say unto them, Be favourable unto them for our sakes: because we reserved not to each man his wife in the war: for ye did not give unto them at this time, that ye should be guilty.
Chapters 17 through 21 of Judges, to which this verse belongs, record events that occurred in the early part of the history of the judges, though they are placed at the end of the book after chapter 16 where the main narrative ends. The verse is part of that account of Israel's backsliding and gives no ground for thinking backsliding can be done with impunity.
It sets forth Israel's arrangement for the surviving Benjaminites to take wives from the maidens who came out to dance at Shiloh, as described in Judges 21:21-23. If the fathers or brothers of the women came to complain, Israel promised to ask them to be favorable toward the Benjaminites. The reason offered was that Israel had not reserved a wife for each man in the war, and that the families had not themselves given the women at that time, so they would not be made guilty by giving them.
The verse belongs to the pitiful record of backsliding in those closing chapters that brought disgrace and punishment. It shows loyalty to the tribe counted as of greater importance than rendering justice. Together with the surrounding chapters it shows conventional hospitality counted as higher than female virtue. The same misplaced priorities are seen today, yet there is never any excuse for sin.