Helgi varð fyr höggi;
hraut sjóðr á nef kauða;
hneig Hálfdanar hlýri
ór hásæti miðju.
Þar varð Baldr at brenna,
en baugi náða ek áðr;
síðan frá eldi usla
ódrjúgr dró ek bjúga.
Helgi varð fyr höggi; sjóðr hraut á nef kauða; hlýri Hálfdanar hneig ór miðju hásæti. Þar varð Baldr at brenna, en ek náða baugi áðr; síðan dró ek ódrjúgr bjúga usla frá eldi.
Helgi met with a blow; the purse struck on the wretch’s nose; the brother of Hálfdan [= Helgi] fell from the middle of the high-seat. There Baldr <god> had to burn, but I grabbed the ring beforehand; afterwards I, not sluggish, pulled curved embers out of the fire.
[8] ódrjúgr ‘not sluggish’: The usual sense of ódrjúgr appears to be ‘insufficient, inadequate’ (cf. Fritzner: údrjúgr), which does not fit the context here. The commoner adj. drjúgr usually means ‘substantial, lasting’. Because the normal sense is inappropriate, eds have emended, as explained in the Note to ll. 7-8 above. Here, however, it is possible that the negated adj. has the sense ‘not sluggish, quick’ rather than ‘insubstantial’.