The king of the Ammonites declared war upon Israel, and Jephte promises that if he is victorious in the battle, he will sacrifice the first creature to come out of his house to greet him upon his return. The narrator describes the fight and defeat of the Ammonites, "Transivit ergo Jephte," and his daughter is the first to come from the house to greet him, celebrating his victory by singing and dancing with her companions, "Incipite in tympanis." He sadly tells her of the oath he has sworn, "Heu, heu mihi, filia mea." She accepts her fate, but asks that first she be allowed to go into the mountains with her friends and lament that she died while still a virgin and without children. She mourns her destiny, "Plorate colles, dolente montes," with an echo responding, and the chorus joins in exhorting the children of Israel and its virgins to mourn for Jephte's daughter.

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