Song of Solomon 1:5-7

Easy-to-Read Version

She Speaks to the Women

⁵Daughters of Jerusalem,
I am dark and beautiful,
as black as the tents of Kedar and Salma.^[a]

⁶Don’t look at how dark I am,
    at how dark the sun has made me.
My brothers were angry with me.
    They forced me to take care of their vineyards,
    so I could not take care of myself.^[b]

She Speaks to Him

⁷I love you with all my soul!
    Tell me, where do you feed your sheep?
    Where do you lay them down at noon?
I should come to be with you
    or I will be like a hired woman^[c] caring for the sheep of your friends.

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Footnotes

Song of Solomon 1:5 Kedar and Salma Arabian tribes. For “Salma” the standard Hebrew text has “Solomon,” but compare “Salma, Salmon” in Ruth 4:20-21.
Song of Solomon 1:6 myself Literally, “my own vineyard.”
Song of Solomon 1:7 hired woman Or “a woman wearing a veil.” This might mean a prostitute.