1.5 Dark am I, but lovely, O young women of Jerusalem,
like tents darkened, but like curtain of Solomon.
6 Do not stare at me because I am dark,
because the sun has gazed upon me.
The sons of my mother burned in anger toward me.
They appointed me caretaker of the vineyards,
But of my own vineyard which belongs to me I have not taken care.
7 Tell me, you whom my soul loves
where you graze your flock where you rest them at noon:
for why should I be like a veiled woman by the flocks of your close friends.
She says something negative about herself.
She is probably expecting him to say something complimentary.
He doesn’t say anything.
So she changes her approach and is asking where he will be at the noon break,
She is inviting herself to go and meet him.
Then she throws in a little dig.
She isn’t saying she would act like a prostitute, but that the friends might
think that she is one.
They would speak differently to her if they assumed she was a prostitute.
They would hit on her and ask her how much to perform this act with them.
He really has to react to what she says this time.
below are some selections from other versions.
6 Look not upon me, because I am swarthy, Because the sun hath scorched me. ASV
7 To express shame or grief, or to conceal identity as a prostitute would; [Gn 38:14-15] HCSB
7 For why should I wander like a prostitute among the flocks of your companions?”* NLT
7 Where thou feedest thy flock, Where thou makest it to rest at noon: ASV
7 Where do your sheep lie down at noon? NLV
7 Why should I have to act like a prostitute near the flocks of your friends?” NIRV
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