Prose Edda — Old Norse facing a living language
Inn þriði áss er sá, er kallaðr er Njörðr. Hann býr á himni, þar sem heitir Nóatún. Hann ræðr fyrir göngu vinds ok stillir sjá ok eld. Á hann skal heita til sæfara ok til veiða. Hann er svá auðigr ok fésæll, at hann má gefa þeim auð landa eða lausafjár. Á hann skal til þess heita. Eigi er Njörðr ása ættar.
"The third of the Aesir is the one called Njord. He lives in the sky, in the place called Noatun. He governs the movement of the wind, and calms sea and fire — sailors and hunters should call on him. He is so wealthy and prosperous that he can grant riches in land or goods to those who ask, and people should invoke him for that too.
Hann var upp fæddr í Vanaheimi, en Vanir gísluðu hann goðunum ok tóku í mót at gíslingu þann, er Hænir heitir. Hann varð at sætt með goðum ok Vönum. Njörðr á þá konu, er Skaði heitir, dóttir Þjaza jötuns. Skaði vill hafa bústað þann, er átt hafði faðir hennar, þat er á fjöllum nökkurum, þar sem heitir Þrymheimr, en Njörðr vill vera nær sæ.
Njord isn't of the Aesir's own kin — he was raised in Vanaheim, but the Vanir gave him to the gods as a hostage, and took in exchange the one called Hoenir; that sealed the peace between the gods and the Vanir. Njord is married to a woman named Skadi, daughter of the giant Thjazi. Skadi wanted to live where her father had lived, in the mountains, at a place called Thrymheim, but Njord wanted to stay near the sea.
Þau sættust á þat, at þau skyldu vera níu nætr í Þrymheimi, en þá aðrar níu at Nóatúnum. En er Njörðr kom aftr til Nóatúna af fjallinu, þá kvað hann þetta: 35. Leið erumk fjöll, vark-a ek lengi á, nætr einar níu; ulfa þytr mér þótti illr vera hjá söngvi svana. Þá kvað Skaði þetta: 36. Sofa ek né máttak sævar beðjum á fugls jarmi fyrir; sá mik vekr, er af víði kemr, morgin hverjan már.
They struck a bargain: they'd spend nine nights at Thrymheim, then the next nine at Noatun. But when Njord came back down from the mountain to Noatun, he said this: I hated the mountains, / I wasn't there long — / just nine nights; / the howl of wolves / sounded harsh to me / next to the swans' song. Then Skadi said this: I couldn't sleep / on the sea's shore-beds / for the shrieking of birds; / that gull wakes me / every morning, / flying in from the deep.
Þá fór Skaði upp á fjall ok byggði í Þrymheimi, ok ferr hon mjök á skíðum ok með boga ok skýtr dýr. Hon heitir öndurgoð eða öndurdís. Svá er sagt: 37. Þrymheimr heitir, er Þjazi bjó, sá inn ámáttki jötunn; en nú Skaði byggvir, skír brúðr goða, fornar toftir föður
Then Skadi went back up into the mountains and settled at Thrymheim, and she goes about most of the time on skis with a bow, shooting game — she's called the Ski-Goddess, or the Lady of Skis. So it's said: Thrymheim it's called, where Thjazi lived, / that monstrous giant; / but now Skadi, the gods' bright bride, / lives in her father's old homestead.