##  I am dark but lovely ##

"My skin is dark, but I am still beautiful"

## 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 ##

She compares her skin to the beautiful curtains Solomon produced either for his own palace or for the Temple. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-simile]])

## scorched ##

"burned"

## My mother’s sons ##

"My half-brothers." These brothers probably had the same mother as the woman but not the same father.

## keeper of the vineyards ##

"the person who took 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]])