TSARPI:  [Holding out her hands.]
  Am I not yours?  Will you renounce our vows?

NAAMAN: 
  The vows were empty,—­never made you mine
  In aught but name.  A wife is one who shares
  Her husband’s thought, incorporates his heart
  With hers by love, and crowns him with her trust. 
  She is God’s remedy for loneliness,
  And God’s reward for all the toil of life. 
  This you have never been to me,—­and so
  I give you back again to Rimmon’s House
  Where you belong.  Claim what you will of mine,—­
  Not me!  I do renounce you,—­or release you,—­
  According to the law.  If you demand
  A further cause than what I have declared,
  I will unfold it fully to the King.

REZON:  [Interposing hurriedly.]
  No need of that!  This duteous lady yields
  To your caprice as she has ever done;
  She stands a monument of loyalty
  And woman’s meekness.

NAAMAN: 
        Let her stand for that! 
  Adorn your temple with her piety! 
  But you in turn restore to me the treasure
  You stole at midnight from my tent.

REZON: 
  What treasure?  I have stolen none from you.

NAAMAN: 
  The very jewel of my soul,—­Ruahmah! 
  My King, the captive maid of Israel,
  To whom thou didst commit my broken life
  With letters to Samaria,—­my light,
  My guide, my saviour in this pilgrimage,—­
  Dost thou remember?

BENHADAD: 
        I recall the maid,—­
  But dimly,—­for my mind is old and weary. 
  She was a fearless maid, I trusted her
  And gave thee to her charge.  Where is she now?

NAAMAN: 
  This robber fell upon my camp by night,—­
  While I was with Elisha at the Jordan,—­
  Slaughtered my soldiers, carried off the maid,
  And holds her somewhere in imprisonment. 
  O give this jewel back to me, my King,
  And I will serve thee with a grateful heart
  For ever.  I will fight for thee, and lead
  Thine armies on to glorious victory
  Over all foes!  Thou shalt no longer fear
  The host of Asshur, for thy throne shall stand
  Encompassed with a wall of dauntless hearts,
  And founded on a mighty people’s love,
  And guarded by the God of righteousness.

BENHADAD: 
  I feel the flame of courage at thy breath
  Leap up among the ashes of despair. 
  Thou hast returned to save us!  Thou shalt have
  The maid; and thou shalt lead my host again! 
  Priest, I command you give her back to him.

REZON: 
  O master, I obey thy word as thou
  Hast ever been obedient to the voice
  Of Rimmon.  Let thy fiery captain wait
  Until the sacrifice has been performed,
  And he shall have the jewel that he claims. 
  Must we not first placate the city’s god
  With due allegiance, keep the ancient faith,
  And pay our homage to the Lord of Wrath?