Menn sá ek þá, er mjök ala
öfund um annars hagi;
blóðgar rúnir váru á brjósti þeim
merkðar meinliga.
Ek sá menn þá, er mjök ala öfund um hagi annars; blóðgar rúnir váru merkðar meinliga á brjósti þeim.
I saw men then who greatly nourish envy of another’s affairs; bloody runes were painfully marked on their breasts [lit. breast].
[1] sá ek: so papp15ˣ, 738ˣ, 167b 6ˣ, 214ˣ, 1441ˣ, 10575ˣ, 2797ˣ, ek sá 166bˣ
[1] sá ek ‘I saw’: 166bˣ here and in the following st. transposes sá and ek. Assuming that the poet intended the same formula throughout this sequence, the majority ms. reading has been adopted.