Lætr of ǫxl, sás útar,
aldrœnn, stendr á tjaldi,
sig-Freyr Svǫlnis Vára
slíðrvǫnd ofan ríða.
Eigi mun, þótt œgir
ǫrbeiðanda reiðisk,
bríkruðr bǫðvar* jǫkla
beinrangr framar ganga.
Aldrœnn sig-Freyr, sás stendr útar á tjaldi, lætr slíðrvǫnd Svǫlnis Vára ríða ofan of ǫxl. Beinrangr bǫðvar* jǫkla bríkruðr mun eigi ganga framar, þótt œgir ǫrbeiðanda reiðisk.
The elderly battle-Freyr <= god> [WARRIOR] who stands further out on the tapestry lets his scabbard-wand of Svǫlnir’s <= Óðinn’s> Várs <goddesses> [VALKYRIES > SWORD] swing down from his shoulder. The bandy-legged tree of the plank of the glaciers of battle [(lit. ‘plank-tree of the glaciers of battle’) SWORDS > SHIELD > WARRIOR] will not go further forward even if the threatener of arrow-requesters [WARRIORS > WARRIOR] gets angry.
[6] ǫrbeiðanda ‘of arrow-requesters’: Bibire 1988 interprets the first element as ‘arrow’ (ǫr f.), but admits the possibility that it means ‘eager’ (as in LP), Poole (2006, 147) translates it as ‘frenzied’, while both Skj B and ÍF 34 paraphrase the whole expression rather than translating. While the adj. ǫrr, meaning both ‘quick’ (and therefore ‘bold, brave’) and ‘generous’ is used elsewhere by Rv (cf. sts 1/1, 12/6), both as a simplex and as the first element in a cpd, a weapon-word seems most appropriate in this context.