Misst hafa Sveins at sýnu,
sverð-Gautr, fǫrunautar
(hǫrð es heldr of orðin)
heimkvômu (fǫr beima).
Hrœrir hausa þeira
hreggi œst ok leggi
— sær þýtr auðs of ôrum —
unnr á sanda grunni.
Fǫrunautar Sveins hafa at sýnu misst heimkvômu, sverð-Gautr; fǫr beima es of orðin heldr hǫrð. Unnr, œst hreggi, hrœrir hausa þeira ok leggi á grunni sanda; sær þýtr of ôrum auðs.
Sveinn’s comrades have clearly lost out on their home-coming, sword-Gautr <= Óðinn> [WARRIOR]; the men’s expedition has turned out rather harsh. The wave, stirred up by the storm, tosses their skulls and limbs on the floor of the sands; the sea roars over the envoys of wealth [GENEROUS MEN].
[3, 4] fǫr beima es of orðin heldr hǫrð ‘the men’s expedition has turned out rather harsh’: The beima, m. gen. pl. ‘men’, are not identified, but since the remainder of the st. gloats over the misfortunes of Sveinn’s forces, this reference is presumably also to them. ÍF 28 favours the interpretation vér höfum heldur staðið í harðræðum ‘we have been in rather a difficult situation’, though a translation similar to the one adopted here is also offered.