Hjarðir sæfa þarf eigi til hylli guðs;
beit þú yxn fyrir arðr;
reykelsis ilm, þann er kemr af réttum siðum,
vill hann fyrir tafn taka.
Þarf eigi sæfa hjarðir til hylli guðs; beit þú yxn fyrir arðr; hann vill taka fyrir tafn reykelsis ilm, þann er kemr af réttum siðum.
It is not necessary to kill herds for the honour of God; harness oxen to a plough; He will accept in place of sacrifice the fragrance of incense which comes from correct religious observances.
[3] beit: bættu 624
[3] beit ‘harness, bite’: There is a play here on the senses of beita: the expression beita fyrir ‘to harness (an animal) to (a vehicle, plough, etc.)’; and the sense of the same verb, ‘cause to bite, hunt’, which can relate to the killing of animals for sacrifice mentioned in the first cl.