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Don’t look at how dark I am,
    at how dark the sun has made me.
My brothers were angry with me
    and made me tend the vineyards,
    so I haven’t tended my own vineyard!
Tell me, you whom I love,
    where do you feed your sheep?
    Where do you let them rest at noon?
Why should I look for you near your friend’s sheep,
    like a woman who wears a veil?[a]

The Man Speaks to the Woman

You are the most beautiful of women.
    Surely you know to follow the sheep
and feed your young goats
    near the shepherds’ tents.

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Footnotes

  1. 1:7 veil This was the way a prostitute usually dressed.

Do not stare at me because I am dark,
    because I am darkened by the sun.
My mother’s sons were angry with me
    and made me take care of the vineyards;(A)
    my own vineyard I had to neglect.
Tell me, you whom I love,
    where you graze your flock
    and where you rest your sheep(B) at midday.
Why should I be like a veiled(C) woman
    beside the flocks of your friends?

Friends

If you do not know, most beautiful of women,(D)
    follow the tracks of the sheep
and graze your young goats
    by the tents of the shepherds.

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