Refsir reyndan ofsa
ráðgegn Haraldr þegnum;
hykk, at hilmis rekkar
haldi upp, þvís valda.
Sverðs hafa slíkar byrðar
— sanns nýtr hverr við annan —
— Haraldr skiptir svá heiptum —
hljótendr, es sér brjóta.
Ráðgegn Haraldr refsir þegnum reyndan ofsa; hykk, at rekkar hilmis haldi upp, þvís valda. Hljótendr sverðs hafa slíkar byrðar, es brjóta sér; hverr nýtr sanns við annan; Haraldr skiptir svá heiptum.
The purposeful Haraldr punishes his retainers for their proven arrogance; I think the prince’s warriors are paying for what they start. The possessors of the sword [WARRIORS] have such burdens as they break off for themselves; each gains what is right from the other; Haraldr deals out hostility in this way.
[6] sanns ‘what is right’: This is gen. sg. (governed by the verb njóta ‘gain’) of sannr m. ‘truth, rectitude, fairness’. The exact sense is disputed, most eds assuming some variant on ‘justice’, while Kock argued for ‘decency’ (anständighet, skick, höviskhet) here and in the five other contexts for the noun listed in LP (NN §1228).