Norðan heldu alt um öldur,
auðar lundr, við þik til fundar
— húfar treystu drifnar dúfur —
dygðarmenn ór Finna bygðum.
Svífa léztu ór hverju hrófi
hlaðnar skeiðr á vatnit breiða;
sandi jós um stálin steindu
storðar gandr fyrir Elfi norðan.
Lundr auðar, dygðarmenn alt norðan ór bygðum Finna heldu um öldur til fundar við þik; húfar treystu drifnar dúfur. Léztu hlaðnar skeiðr svífa ór hverju hrófi á vatnit breiða; gandr storðar jós sandi um stálin steindu fyrir norðan Elfi.
Tree of wealth [GENEROUS MAN], trusty men all the way from the north from the settlements of the Saami sailed across the waves to the meeting with you; the hulls tested the foaming waves. You let the heavily-laden warships glide from every boat-shed onto wide water; the wolf of the land [WIND] dashed sand over the painted prows north of the Götaälv.
[3] húfar treystu drifnar dúfur ‘the hulls tested the foaming waves’: As Konráð Gíslason pointed out (1895-7, I, 77-8), the verb treysta means ‘try the strength of’. It would seem more natural if the waves tested the strength of the hulls rather than the other way around, but all the mss have húfar (m. nom. pl.). Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) emended to húfa (m. acc. pl.) and Konráð claimed he was convinced that húfa was the original reading and dúfur ‘waves’ the subject, but did not emend. Kock disagreed with Finnur and Konráð and pointed out other examples where the hulls test the strength of the waves and not the other way around (NN §2286).