Martin Chase (ed.) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Lilja 14’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 579.
En að verðleikrinn vís á jörðu
vyrði sök til himna dýrðar,
boðorðið liet fram blíður drottinn;
býður þeim í skyldu að hlýða:
‘Eplið eitt eg banna að bíta
báðum ykkr, en þið munuð ráða,
deyja skuluð, ef efnið eigi
einfalt boð með dyggleik hreinum.’
En að verðleikrinn á jörðu vyrði vís sök til dýrðar himna, liet blíður drottinn boðorðið fram; býður þeim í skyldu að hlýða: ‘Eplið eitt banna eg ykkr báðum að bíta, en þið munuð ráða; skuluð deyja ef eigi efnið einfalt boð með dyggleik hreinum.’
And so that their merit on earth should become a sure basis for the glory of the heavens, the kindly Lord propounded the commandment; he commands them to obey dutifully: ‘One apple I forbid you both to take a bite of, but you may decide for yourselves; you must die if you do not keep the single command with pure fidelity.’
Mss: Bb(113vb), 720a VIII(2r), 99a(3v), 622(25), 713(7), Vb(248), 41 8°ˣ(108), 705ˣ(5r), 4892(26v)
Readings: [1] En: Sem Vb, 41 8°ˣ, 4892; að: om. 713, Vb, 41 8°ˣ, 4892; ‑leikrinn: ‑leikinn 99a, 705ˣ; vís: víssi 720a VIII, 99a, 705ˣ, vóx Vb, 41 8°ˣ, 4892; á: af 622 [2] vyrði: vorðinn 622, yrði 713, að virði Vb, 41 8°ˣ, ef virði 705ˣ, að yrði 4892 [3] boðorðið: boðorði Vb, 41 8°ˣ; liet: eitt 99a, 622, 705ˣ, 4892, riett 713, einu Vb, 41 8°ˣ; fram: enn 720a VIII, 99a, 622, 713, Vb, 41 8°ˣ; blíður: blíði 720a VIII, 99a, 622, Vb, 41 8°ˣ [4] býður: býður hann 705ˣ; að: er að 720a VIII [5] eitt eg banna: eitt og banna 720a VIII, er eitt það er eg 713 [7] deyja: deiga 4892; skuluð: skuluð þið 713, skolið 705ˣ [8] boð: buð 720a VIII; dyggleik: dyggðleik Vb, 41 8°ˣ
Editions: Skj AII, 367-8, Skj BII, 394, Skald II, 214, NN §§1519, 3310.
Notes: [1] verðleikrinn ‘their [lit. the] merit’: In the ON Eluc the Master uses this word to explain why God created the angels with free will: Fvr retlete at þeir mętte retta ombon taka fyr verþleic sinn. Ef þeir vere sua scapaþer at þeir mętte eige misgera. þa hefþe þeir enge verþleic viþ Goþ þuiat þeir gerþe sua sem nauþger gott ‘For the sake of justice, so that they could receive their just reward for their worth [verðleik]. Had they been created without the ability to sin, they would not have had any merit [verðleik] before God because they would have acted well only out of necessity’ (Eluc 1992, 12-13). This st. expresses the same rationale for human freedom. — [2] vyrði … dýrðar ‘should become … glory’: Note the imperfect rhyme. The phrase dýrðar himna ‘glory of the heavens’ appears again in 68/8. — [3] boðorðið liet fram blíður drottinn: This is the reading of Bb. For the meaning láta fram ‘to propound’, see LP: láta 2. and fram. Skj B and Skald follow the majority of mss in reading boðorðit eitt enn blíði drottinn, where enn blíði drottinn is the subject of býður (l. 4). — [7] deyja … eigi ‘die … not’: The rhyme is accurate: eigi would have been pronounced with palatalized <g> in C14th. Cf. 7/5 and 17/5 (JH).
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