Anon Lil 11VII/1 — hætti ‘behaviour’
Breytti guð og brá til hætti
blóð og hold af vatni og moldu,
liettan blástr af lofti næsta,
lífs heitleika af sólar reitum,
önd og þar til síðan sendi;
sú er skiljandi drottins vilja;
leið kunnandi um líkams æðar,
líf skínanda af helgum anda.
Guð breytti og brá hætti til, blóð og hold af vatni og moldu, liettan blástr af lofti næsta, heitleika lífs af reitum sólar, og sendi síðan þar til önd; sú er skiljandi vilja drottins, kunnandi leið um æðar líkams, skínanda líf af helgum anda.
God transformed and changed his behaviour, blood and flesh from water and soil, the light breath from the nearest air, the warmth [lit. warmths] of life from the paths of the sun [SKY/HEAVEN], and then he sent a soul there; it is discerning the Lord’s will, knowing the path through the body’s blood vessels, the shining life from the Holy Spirit.
readings
[1] hætti: hættis 622
notes
[1] guð breytti og brá hætti til ‘God transformed and changed his behaviour’: The reading here follows Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) and most other eds: according to LP the idiom bregða hætti til means to change one’s way of proceeding, but this is not attested by any other dictionary. Bregða occurs with a variety of prepositions and adverbials, but idioms with til always have a gen. object and hætti is dat. sg. Bregða e-u til e-s can mean ‘to change one thing into or make equal with another’ (Fritzner: bregða til e-s), and breyta (til) can mean ‘to vary, alternate, arrange elegantly’ (ONP: breyta 3; Sigfús Blöndal 1920-4: breyta 1). Kock disputes that háttr can mean ‘way of proceeding’ (so Skj B fremgangsmåde) and argues that it rather means ‘condition, type, nature’. However, it is well attested in the sense ‘manner of behaviour, characteristic behaviour’ (see SnSt Ht 37/5 and 89/5III). Kock translates ‘God changed and re-made nature: blood and flesh from water and earth’ (NN §3390).