> Ólafur mælti: "Hins vildi eg beiða yður frændi að þér
> breytið ráðahag yðrum og færuð utan.

> Olaf said: "I would ask you, kinsman, that you change your
> state of life and go abroad.

> Olaf spoke, “I would want to ask you, kinsman, this that
> you change your situation and go abroad.

> Ólafr spoke: „I would-want to beg of you otherwise (hinn,
> Z1), kinsman, that you change your way-of-life and move
> abroad (truly undergo a sea change J) .

<Beiða> takes the thing requested in the genitive; here
that's <hins>, making it 'That would I ask of you, kinsman,
that you ...'. I suppose that there might also be a
suggestion of 'that other [thing] would I ask of you', but I
don't see any reason to interpret <hins> as an adverb
'otherwise', if that's even possible.

> Muntu þar þykja sómamaður sem þú kemur.

> You will be esteemed as an honorable man from where you
> come. (Z. sem 7 - þar s., where; þangat s., whither; þaðan
> s., whence (muntu þar þykkja sómamaðr sem þú kemr)

> You will there seem an honourable man when you come.

> You-will be-thought a man-of-worth wherever (þar...sem)
> you come (to).

In case further clarification is needed, it's more or less
literally 'You will be thought a worthy man there where you
arrive', with the implication that it doesn't matter where
this is, and the easiest way to convey this in English is
with 'wherever'.

> En eg hygg um Hrút frænda okkarn að hann þykist kulda af
> kenna af skiptum yðrum.

> But I think concerning our kinsman Hrut that he thinks to
> feel cold from your parting. (Z. kenna 6 - k. hita (kulda)
> af e-u, to feel heat (cold) from)

> And I think about Hrut, our kinsman, that he would feel
> cold from your dealings.

> But (and) I think regarding Hrútr, our kinsman, that he
> bethinks-himself to perceive a coldness of (in) your
> dealings (skipti, pl, Z4) (why two afs?).

From Marius Nygaard, _Norrøn syntax_:

28. a) Stundom sættes til verbet først en præp. absolut og
derpaa føies for tydeligheds skyld bagefter det
fuldstændige komplementsudtryk.

If I'm not mistaken, he's saying that sometimes a 'naked'
preposition is added to the verb first, followed for the
sake of clarity by the complete verbal complement. One of
the examples is <hann þykkizk kulda af kenna af skiptum
yðrum>. I take it, then, that we can in effect treat
<af kenna> as the verb, with <af> giving it the more
specific sense 'to perceive, to feel'; <af skiptum yðrum> is
then the explicit, complete verbal complement. In other
words, <ek hygg að hann þykist kulda af kenna> alone would
say 'I think that he feels a coldness', and <af skiptum
yðrum> identifies the source, repeating the prepositional
auxiliary in the process.

> Er mér lítið um að hætta til lengur að þið sitjist svo
> nær.

> (It) is to me little concerning to risk longer that you
> sit so near one another.

> It concerns? me to risk longer that you sit so close by
> each other.

> (It) is little to me (ie little to my liking, see um, Z9)
> to risk (it) (any) longer that you-two should-settle so
> near one another (see sitjast, Z9).

'Should reside' seems to fit a little better than 'should
settle'.

> Er Hrútur aflamikill en synir hans ofsamenn einir og
> garpar.

> Hrut is a powerful man and his sons the most overbearing
> and dauntless men.

> Hrut is powerful and his sons some overbearing men and
> bold.

> Hrútr is powerful (great in strength) but (and) his sons
> overbearing-men, each (?), and bold-men.

The editor of one old edition interprets this <einir> as
German <lauter> 'purely, only, nothing but', which does fit
its position after the noun.

> En ef þér þykir miklu máli skipta frændi og þykist þú þar
> um í miklum vanda sitja þá vil eg gera fyrir þín orð því
> að þá undi eg best mínu ráði er eg var utanlendis.

> But if it seems to you to be of great importance, kinsman,
> and it seems to you that concerning in much obligation
> tarry then I will do because of your words because then I
> am most content when I was abroad. (Z. mál 11 - e-t
> skiptir miklu (litlu) máli, it is of great (small)
> importance)

> But if it seems to you a case of great importance,
> kinsman, and you think there great difficulties rest on
> (it) then I would act in accordance with your words
> because then I loved best my situation when I was abroad.

> But if (it) seems to you to be of great importance,
> kinsman, and you bethink-yourself about that (see þar um,
> under þar, Z3) to sit in great difficulty (to be in a
> difficult situation, ), then I want to do (it) for your
> words (intercession, see under fyrir, Z.ii.11), because
> then (at that time) I was-best-content (past tense) with
> my lot (see under una, Z2) when I was abroad.

I looked at several instances of <göra fyrir þín orð>. My
impression is that it's something like 'act according to
your words of intercession' -- in brief, 'do as you ask'.
In other words, it *is* 'act in accordance with your words',
but it seems to carry the further implication that those
words are a request.

> Ólafur svarar: "Þá hefir þú vel af þessu máli ef þú gerir
> eftir bæn minni.

> Olaf answers: "Then you have well of this talk if you do
> for my request.

> Olaf answers, “Then you have good from this situation if
> you act after my request.

> Ólafr answers: “Then you will-fare well (be happy, see
> hafa, Z10) from this affair if you act according to my
> request.

I agree that <mál> here is most likely 'matter, affair,
situation', though I suppose that 'colloquy, conversation'
can't be absolutely ruled out.

> ... til minna sona."
> ... to my sons."
> ... to my sons.”
> ... to my (own) son.”

'Sons': <sona> is gen. plur.

> (Shouldn't the text say "útanferðar" rather than
> "utanferðar"?)

The modern Icelandic spelling is <utan>.

> Síðan hélt Þorleikur til Gautlands.
> Then Thorleik held fast to Gottland.
> Afterwards Thorleik steered for Gotland.
> After-that Þorleikr holds (course) towards Gautland
> (Gotaland).

'Held': <hélt> is past tense.

> Það er flestra manna sögn að Þorleikur ætti lítt við elli
> að fást og þótti þó mikils verður meðan hann var uppi.

> Most people say that Thorleik had little to contend with
> old age and seemed yet great worth happens as long was he
> was up (meaning "alive"?). (Z. sögn 2 - þat er s. manna,
> at, people say, the story goes, that)

<Vera uppi> 'to live, to be alive'; you'll find it s.v.
<uppi>.

> It is said by most people that Thorleik had little
> (difficulty) to contend with aging and still seemed very
> worthy while he was alive.

> That is (the) report of most men that Þorleikr had to
> exert-himself (eiga at fáast) little against old-age (I
> presume this means that old age was not a struggle) and
> still was-thought worthy of much (was greatly esteemed)
> while he was alive (up on top of the ground).

Or simply 'had to struggle little against old age'.

Brian