> Voru þeir Borgfirðingar allfjölmennir.
> They, the Borgfirdingers were in-great-numbers.
> They, Borgar Firthers, were (there) in great numbers.
> They were Borgfjorders in very-great-numbers.

I'm inclined to read <þeir> as the demonstrative pronoun:
'The Borgfirðings were [there] in great numbers'.

> 24. kafli Reist Hjarðarholt
> Hjardarholt cut-open

[...]

> Chapter 24 – Hjarðarholt established.

Rob: <reist> is the past participle of <reisa>.

> Það sumar tók Þórður goddi sótt þá er hann leiddi til
> bana.

> That summer Thord Godd took ill, then which led him to
> death.

> That summer Thord goddi became sick then which lead to his
> death.

> That summer Þórðr goddi took (contracted) that illness
> which lead him to (his) death.

Just to emphasize what's implicit in Alan's translation: it
is indeed <sótt þá> 'the/that sickness', with <þá> the fem.
acc. sing. demonstrative.

> Ólafur lét verpa haug eftir hann í nesi því er gengur fram
> í Laxá er Drafnarnes heitir.

> Olaf caused to raise a mound over him in (the) ness
> therefore which goes from Lax River, which is named
> Drafnarness.

> Olaf had a mound raised to him on that ness which goes
> forward to Salmon River which is called Drafar Ness.

> Ólafr caused to raise a mound over him in that headland
> which goes (extends) forward into Laxá (Salmon River)
> which is call Drafnarnes.

As a matter of possible interest, I discovered that
Drafnarnes is now called Lambastaðanes. As of a 1997 report
that I found on-line, there is a man-made structure there.
The report says that it's very clear, though it has probably
sunk somewhat into the earth and is flat rather than humped.
It's oval, about 15 metres by 12, and surrounded by a wall
about one metre thick and 50 cm high. Within the wall are a
great many large tussocks. Near the middle is a stone slab
sunk about 20 cm into the earth. On it there seems to be an
inscription that reads 'Hér hvílir Þórður Goddi', but the
inscription is so badly effaced that it was hard to read.
Around there are by far the largest tussocks, all 60 cm in
breadth and 40-50 cm high; they seem to mark a square about
3 metres by 3. No mound is visible in this structure, and
the researchers made no attempt to guess the original
purpose of the structure.

> Þar var bú risulegast í Laxárdal er Ólafur átti.

> There was the most stately farm in Salmon-river-dale,
> which Olaf owned.

> There was the most stately farm in Salmon River Dale which
> Olaf had.

> (The) most-stately farm in Laxárdal which Ólafr owned was
> there.

I'd go with Rob's translation: I'm pretty sure that the
intended sense is 'The most stately farm in Laxárdal was
there, [the one] that Ólaf owned'.

> Lendur þær er Hrappur hafði átt lágu í auðn sem fyrr var
> ritað.

> Those lands which Hraup had owned lay in waste as
> previously was written.

> Those lands which Hrapp had had lay abandoned as was
> written previously.

> Those estates which Hrappr had owned lay in waste as
> before was written.

And here I'd go with Grace: they weren't truly wasteland,
but they had been abandoned.

> Ólafi þóttu þær vel liggja, ræddi fyrir föður sínum eitt
> sinn að þeir mundu gera menn á fund Trefils með þeim
> erindum að Ólafur vill kaupa að honum löndin á
> Hrappsstöðum og aðrar eignir þær er þar fylgja.

> It seemed to Olaf they were well situated, discussed
> before his fathers (as this is the plural, does it mean
> his parents?)

<Föður> is the gen., dat., and acc. singular; the plural has
root vowel <e> in all cases (e.g., nom. <feðr>).

> one time that they should send men to meet Trefil with the
> message that Olaf will buy (from) him the lands at
> Hrappstad and other properties, they which accompanied
> (them) there.

> To Olaf they seemed well placed, (he) spoke to his father
> before one time that they should arrange men to meet
> Trefil with that errand that Olaf wishes to buy from him
> the lands at Hrapp’s steads and those other (lands) which
> belong there.

> Those (estates) seemed to Ólafr to lie well (be well
> situated) (he) discussed with his father one time that
> they would send (göra, Z8) men to a meeting with Trefill
> with those messages that Ólafr wants to buy from him
> the-lands at Hrappstaðir and those other properties
> (possessions) which pertain (belong) to there (ie to those
> lands).


> Var það að kaupi með þeim að Ólafur skyldi reiða þrjár
> merkur silfurs fyrir löndin en það var þó ekki
> jafnaðarkaup því að það voru víðar lendur og fagrar og
> mjög gagnauðgar.

> That was (as) to (the) agreement with them that Olaf
> should pay three marks of silver for the land and that was
> nevertheless not an equal-bargain because it was extensive
> land and beautiful and very very-productive.

> It was in the bargain with them that Olaf should pay three
> marks silver for the land and it was still not an even
> bargain because it was a wide land and fair and very easy
> to be of use.

> That was by-reason-of (in accordance with) (the) bargain
> between them that Ólafr should pay (see reiða, Z8) three
> marks of silver for the-lands but that was still not an
> equal-bargain because that (ie they) were extensive
> estates and fine and very very-productive.

I'd make it simply 'according to' (<at>, A.IV(9) in Z.).

> Voru þar og skógar miklir nokkuru ofar en Höskuldsstaðir
> eru fyrir norðan Laxá.

> There were also much forest some higher up than
> Hoskuldstad were further north (of) Salmon-river.

> There were also great forests somewhat higher, but
> Hoskuld’s steads are north of Salmon River.

> Also there were great forests somewhat higher-up than
> Höskuldsstaðir is (?), to (the) north of Láxa (Salmon
> River).

'Is' looks okay to me; I expect that plural <eru> is to
agree with the formally plural subject <Höskuldsstaðir>.

> Þar var höggvið rjóður í skóginum og þar var nálega til
> gers að ganga að þar safnaðist saman fé Ólafs hvort sem
> veður voru betri eða verri.

> There was cut-down a clearing in the woods and there was
> nigh to (gers?) to go to there a gathering together (of)
> Olaf's livestock whether (the) weather was better or
> worse.

> There was cut a clearing in the forest and there was close
> at hand for the flock to go that there Olaf’s livestock
> assembled together whether the weather was better or
> worse.

> There was hewn a clearing in the-forest and nearly was
> going there towards that there gathered (see samna, refl)
> together Ólafr’s cattle whether (the) weather was better
> or worse.

It took me quite a while to sort this one out. <Gers> (=
<görs>) is the neut. gen. sing. of <görr>, the past
participle of <göra>. This past part. is discussed in CV
s.v. <göra> F.2, dealing with it in the basic sense 'ready
made, at hand'. In particular, <ganga til görs> is glossed
'to have it ready made for one'. This is still a bit opaque
in the present context, but a German edition of the saga has
a footnote here saying that <til görs at ganga> is 'in
Bereitschaft zu haben', i.e., 'to have in readiness', but
goes on to explain that the actual sense here is 'to know
with complete certainty'. I take it that the literal sense
of <vera náliga til gers at ganga> is something like 'to be
ready-made at hand', with an idiomatic sense of 'to be
completely clear, to be known with complete certainty'. At
any rate, the passage here seems to mean 'and it was certain
that Ólaf's livestock gathered together there ...'.

Brian