Sjám við synð ok svikaráðum
ok alls kyns illum verkum.
Drýgjum dôð, dróttin elskum,
hrindum ǫrt illu ráði.
Sjám við synð ok svikaráðum ok alls kyns illum verkum. Drýgjum dôð, elskum dróttin, hrindum ǫrt illu ráði.
Let us eschew sin and treacherous counsels and all kinds of evil deeds. Let us practise [good] works, love the Lord, reject evil counsel forthwith.
[1] sjám við ‘let us eschew’: Sjám is emended in Skald (cf. NN §2163C), followed by Merl 2012, from ms. sjá (not refreshed). The abbreviation for <m> could have been obscured by fading of the ink. Bret 1848-9 has Sjá við synd translated as Agte sig for Synd ... ‘Guard oneself from sin ...’, where sjá appears to be construed as an imp. Emended in Skj B to sé, apparently construed as if it were 3rd pers. pl. indic., continuing the usage of verbs in the previous stanza. Skj B translates as De undgå synd ... ‘They shun (or ‘will shun’) sin ...’. The construals of the verb in both Bret 1848-9 and Skj B raise difficulties, for the 1st pers. pl. is called for in view of the other verbs in the stanza. The phrasal verb sjá við ‘eschew’ is a standard formulation in homiletic admonitions (cf. HómNo 87).