> Ok er hún kemr at honum, bregðr hann svo hart við, at
> henni verða hendr lausar, ok snýr hún þá bakinu við
> steininum.

> And when she comes to it (honom is referring to the
> boulder here, I think), he startles (?) so hard that she
> gets her hands loose, and she then turns back against the
> stone.

> And when she comes upon it (the boulder, masc), he turns
> (jerks?) so sharply (bregða við fast, Z7), that her hands
> become free, and she turns then the (her)-back against
> the-stone (boulder)

And when she comes to it, he moves so sharply that her hands
come loose, and she then turns her back to the boulder.

> Neytir hann nú orku ok rekr hana aftr á bak á steininn ok
> hryggbrýtr hana.

> He now uses (his) strength and drives her back to the
> stone and breaks her back.

> He uses now (his) strength, and drives her back backwards
> (á bak) to the-stone and breaks her back (lit: back-breaks
> her).

He now uses [his] strength and drives her back to the
boulder and breaks her back.

I think that the whole phrase <aptr á bak, á bak aptr> is
simply 'backwards'.

> Þá segir hún: "Svo mun fara sem móðir mín heitin sagði, at
> vit mundum allar af einum manni drepnar verða.

> She then says: "It will so go as my mother promised said
> (promised saying?), that we would be killed by one man.

> Then she says: “So (it) will go as my mother recited
> (said) the-threats (heit, Z2, plural ), that we would all
> by one man (person) become (ie be) killed.

Then she says: ‘It shall go thus as my mother declared her
promises, that we would all be killed by a single person.

I’m inclined to think that <sem móðir mín heitin sagði> is
effectively ‘as my mother promised’; I’m guessing that the
definite article here is, as so often, effectively the
possessive pronoun (‘her’) and that the plural is simply the
plural, not the alternative sense ‘threats’.

> Hefir þú nú yfirunnit mik, ok muntu þar af hrós hafa."

> You have now overcome me, and you will from that have
> praise."

> You have now overcome (vanquished, yfir-vinna) me, and
> you-will from-that (lit: there-from) have praise.”

You have now overcome me, and you will have praise
therefrom.

> Vill nú Hrani eigi heyra lengr raus hennar, en gat þó eigi
> at gert, því hún hélt honum svo fast at sér, at eigi mátti
> hann hræra nema höndum.

> Hrani doesn't want to hear any longer her excessive
> talking, although (he) wasn't able (??), because she held
> him so hard to herself, the he could not move except his
> hands.

> Hrani wants now not to hear (any) longer her
> verbal-diarrhoea, but still was not able to do (so) (geta
> + pp, Z2), because she held him so firmly to herself, that
> he could not move save (his) hands (arms).

Now Hrani does not want to hear her nonsense [any] longer,
but yet was not able to achieve [that], for she held him so
firmly to herself that he could not move except [his] arms.

> Brýst hann nú um, þar til hann losnar.

> He now made a hards struggle, until he gets loose.

> He now makes-a-hard-struggle (brjótast um, Z8) until he
> gets-free (loose).

He now struggles hard until he gets loose.

> Hefir hún þá rifit af honum klæði hans.

> She has then ripped off his clothes.

> She has then ripped (riven) his clothes off him.

She has then torn his clothes off him.

> Ok nú hleypr hann þangat, sem sverð hans var, sem hann
> hafði misst í tuski þeirra.

> And now he leaps there, where his sword was, where he had
> lost (it) in their scuffle.

> And now he runs thither, where his sword was, where he had
> lost (it) in their scuffle.

And now he runs thither where his sword was, that he had
lost in their scuffle.

<Sem> Z6, I think.

> Grípr hann þat ok höggr haus af henni, hverr, þá lauss var
> orðinn, geispaði hann upp á Hrana, svo hann féll í óvit af
> gufu þeirri, er úr honum gaus.

> He grabs it and hacks of her head, which, then was loose,
> it gaped up at Hrani, so he fell unconscious from their
> steam, which gushed out of it.

> He grips that and hews (the) skull from her, which, when
> (it) was become loose (free), it (hauss is masc) gaped up
> at Hrani, so (that) he (ie Hrani) fell into a swoon
> (insensibility) from that (demonstrative article dat fem
> sg) vapour, which out of it gushed (gjósa).

He seizes it and strikes [her] skull from her, which, when
it had come loose, gaped up at Hrani, so that he fell
unconscious [‘into unconsciousness’] from the vapor that
gushed from it.

I ignored <hann> as subject of <geispaði> to make the
English work better.

> En eftir litla bið raknar hann við ok er þá stirðr mjök.

> But/and after a little delay, he comes to and then is very
> stiff.

> But (And) after a little delay he recovers his senses and
> is then very stiff.

And after a little delay he comes to and is then very stiff.

> Gengr hann svo heim í selit ok leggst niðr.

> He goes home thus to the shed and lies down.

> He walk thus home to the-shieling and lays-himself down.

He walks home thus to the shieling and lies down.

> 7. kafli - Heimkoma Hrana

> Hrani's Return

> Chapter 7 – Homecoming of Hrani

Hrani’s Homecoming

> Um morguninn, er griðkonur vóru á fótum, sjá þær, at fé er
> við stöðul, en Hrani liggr í hvílu, ok ætla þær hann muni
> hafa vakat hjá því um nóttina ok heim komit þegar fyrir
> rismál.

> During the morning, when (the) female servants were up,
> they saw that sheep were (singular in OI) by the milking
> pen (Z. says this the word means milking pen for cows, so
> perhaps "fe" has been referring to cows, not sheep?), and
> Hrani lies in bed, and they think he will have woken by
> that during the night and come home at once befor 6:00
> a.m.

> The next-morning, when (the) female-servants were on
> (their) feet (ie up and about), they see, that (the) sheep
> (or cattle?) are by (the) milking-pen, but Hrani lies in
> bed, and they expect he will have been-awake by (with)
> them (ie the sheep or cattle) during the-night and (will
> have) come home immediately before (the) hour-for-rising.

The next morning, when the female servants were out of bed,
they see that the sheep are by the milking pen, but Hrani
lies in bed, and they suppose that he must have stayed awake
by them during the night and come home just before time to
get up (about 6:00 a.m.).

> Nú liggr hann allt til hádegis.

> He now lies all until noon.

> He now lies completely (ie without a break) until midday.

Now he lies [abed] all the way to midday.

> Svo ríss hann upp.

> So he rises (present tense?) up.

> Thus he gets (rises) up.

Thus he gets up.

> Sjá þær þá klæði hans víða rifin í sundr.

> They (the females) then saw his clothes largely ripped
> apart.

> They see then his clothing extensively (viða, Z2) ripped
> (riven) a-sunder.

They see then his clothing extensively torn asunder.

> Nú lætr hann taka hross eitt, er þar var nálægt, ok ríðr
> heim til Helgastaða, finnr nú Helga.

> Now he causes to take a horse, which was nearby, and rides
> home to Helgastad, now meets Helgi.

> Now he causes to take a single horse, which was then
> nearby, and he rides home to Helgastaðir (Helgi’s-Steads),
> finds now Helgi.

Now he has a certain horse caught that was close by there
and rides home to Helgastaðir [and] now meets Helgi.

> Fagnar bóndi honum vel ok spyrr tíðenda.

> The farmer greets him well and asks what's up.

> (The) farmer greets him well and asks for tidings.

The farmer greets him well and asks for news.

> Hrani segir sem orðit var frá öllum viðskiptum þeirra Nípu
> ok sín.

> Hrani says as had happened about all their, Nipu and his,
> hostile dealings.

> Hrani says as (it) was (had) happened about all their,
> Nípa and his, hostile-dealings.

Hrani tells as [it] had happened about all their hostile
dealings, Nípa’s and his.

> Þykkir Helga mikils um vert ok þakkar Hrana með mörgum
> fögrum orðum framgöngu sína.

> Helgi takes it so much to heart and thanks Hrani with many
> fine words for his courage. (Z. verðr 1: svá þótti honum
> mikils um vert = he took it so much to heart)

> Helgi takes it much to heart (lit: (It) seems to Helgi of
> much worth) and thanks Hrani with many fair words for his
> courage (lit: going-forward, framganga, Z2.

Helgi takes it much to heart and thanks Hrani with many fair
words for his courage.

> Sýndi Hrani, hversu hún hafði rifit af honum klæði, ok svo
> var hann víða blár ok marinn ok hold hans í hnykla saman
> hlaupit.

> Hrani showed, how she had torn clothes from him, and thus
> he was black and blue (literally "black and bruised") all
> over and his flesh in a knot (?) healed over. (Z. hlaupa
> 4: hlaupa saman = of a wound, to heal over)

> Hrani showed, how she had ripped (riven) his clothing from
> him, and also (how) he was extensively blue-black and
> bruised, (pp of merja) and (how) his flesh healed-over
> (lit: ran together) in knots (lumps, accusative plural of
> hnykill).

Hrani showed how she had torn his clothing from him and also
[how] he was extensively black and blue [‘blue-black and
bruised’] and his flesh healed over in knots.

Brian