Gær sák grjóti stóru
— gein hauss fyrir — steini
— fóra fylking þeira
fast — harðliga kastat.
Ofan keyrðum vér — orðum
jǫrð muna Sveinn of varða —
(staðar hefr stafn í miðju)
strandhǫgg (numit landi).
Gær sák stóru grjóti, steini, kastat harðliga; hauss gein fyrir; fylking þeira fóra fast. Vér keyrðum strandhǫgg ofan; Sveinn muna of varða jǫrð orðum; stafn hefr numit staðar í miðju landi.
Yesterday I saw massive stones, rock, hurled mightily; a skull gaped in their path; their troop did not advance strongly. We herded cattle for slaughter down to the shore; Sveinn will not defend the land with words [alone]; the prow has anchored midway along the coast.
[8] strand‑: ‘stran’ E
[5, 8] strandhǫgg ofan ‘cattle for slaughter down to the shore’: Strandhǫgg n., only here in poetry, is lit. ‘shore-slaughter’, performed when coastal raiders drive cattle down to a beach and slaughter them for food. The adv. ofan ‘down’ has its usual sense.