See in Reader
1.6 KiB
I am dark but lovely
"My skin is dark, but I am still beautiful" or "Even though my skin is dark, I am beautiful"
daughters of Jerusalem
"young women of Jerusalem." These young women could not hear her and were not present, but the woman speaks as if they were present and could hear her. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-apostrophe)
dark like the tents of Kedar
The nomadic tribes in Kedar used black goat skins to build their homes. The woman is comparing her skin to these tents. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-simile)
lovely like the curtains of Solomon
Solomon produced beautiful curtains either for his own palace or for the Temple. She says that her skin is beautiful. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-simile)
scorched
This exaggeration for "burned" or "made black" refers to the sun changing her skin from light to dark. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-hyperbole)
My mother's sons
"My half-brothers." These brothers probably had the same mother as the woman but not the same father.
made me keeper of the vineyards
"made me take care of the vineyards"
but my own vineyard I have not kept
The woman compares herself to a vineyard. AT: "but I have not been able to take care of myself" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor)