Meðan gramr, hinns svik samðit,
snart Bilskirnis, hjarta,
grundar fisk með grandi
gljúfrskeljungs nam rjúfa.
Meðan gramr Bilskirnis, hinns samðit svik hjarta, nam rjúfa snart fisk grundar með grandi gljúfrskeljungs.
While the ruler of Bilskirnir <mythical hall> [= Þórr], the one who did not plan treachery in his heart, quickly smashed the fish of the sea-bed [= Miðgarðsormr] with the destruction of the gully-whale [GIANT > = Mjǫllnir].
[4] gljúfrskeljungs ‘of the gully-whale [GIANT]’: The cpd is a hap. leg. but its referent is not in doubt. Gljúfr is a wild ravine or gully through which rivers flow, while skeljungr is a kind of whale, possibly a humpback; the word occurs in Þul Hvala 2/3 and in Konungs skuggsjá (Holm-Olsen 1983, 16). For giant-kennings with base-words meaning ‘whale’, see Meissner 258-9.