Prose Edda — Old Norse facing a living language
Þá mælti Gangleri: "Allmiklu kom Loki á leið, er hann olli fyrst því, er Baldr var veginn, ok svá því, er hann varð eigi leystr frá helju. Eða hvárt varð honum þessa nakkvat hefnt?" Hárr segir: "Goldit var honum þetta, svá at hann mun lengi kennast.
Then Gangleri said: "Loki brought about a great deal, first by causing Baldr's death, and then by keeping him from being freed out of Hel. Was he ever punished for it?" High said: "He was paid back for it in a way he'll remember a long time.
Þá er goðin váru orðin honum svá reið sem ván var, hljóp hann á braut ok fal sik á fjalli nökkuru, gerði þar hús ok fjórar dyrr, at hann mátti sjá ór húsinu í allar ættir, en oft um daga, brá hann sér í laxlíki ok falst þá þar, sem heitir Fránangrsfoss. Þá hugsaði hann fyrir sér, hverja vél æsir mundu til finna at taka hann í forsinum.
Once the gods had grown as furious with him as you'd expect, he ran off and hid himself on a certain mountain, where he built a house with four doors, so he could watch every direction from inside. Often during the day he turned himself into a salmon and hid in the place called Franangr Falls. He turned it over in his mind what trick the Aesir might use to catch him there in the waterfall.
En er hann sat í húsinu, tók hann língarn ok reið á ræksna, svá sem net er síðan gert, en eldr brann fyrir honum. Þá sá hann, at æsir áttu skammt til hans, ok hafði Óðinn sét ór Hliðskjálfinni, hvar hann var. Hann hljóp þegar upp ok út í ána, en kastaði netinu fram á eldinn.
And while he sat in the house, he took linen thread and knotted it into a mesh — the way a net is made ever since — with a fire burning in front of him. Then he saw that the Aesir were closing in, and Odin had already spotted him from Hlidskjalf. He leapt straight up and out into the river, throwing the net into the fire as he went.
En er æsir koma til hússins, þá gekk sá fyrst inn, er allra var vitrastr, er Kvasir heitir, ok er hann sá á eldinum fölskvann, er netit hafði brunnit, þá skilði hann, at þat myndi vél vera til at taka fiska, ok sagði ásunum. Því næst tóku þeir ok gerðu sér net eftir því, sem þeir sá á fölskvanum, at Loki hafði gert. Ok er búit var netit, þá fara æsir til árinnar ok kasta neti í forsinn.
When the Aesir reached the house, the first one in was the wisest of them all, called Kvasir, and when he saw the ash in the fire where the net had burned, he realized it must be some device for catching fish, and told the others. So they made themselves a net, following the pattern they could see in the burnt ashes of Loki's. Once the net was ready, the Aesir went to the river and cast it into the falls. Thor held one end of the net, and all the rest of the Aesir held the other, and they hauled it through the water.
Hélt Þórr öðrum netshálsi, en öðrum héldu allir æsir ok drógu netit, en Loki fór fyrir ok leggst niðr í milli steina tveggja. Drógu þeir netið yfir hann ok kenndu, at kykt var fyrir, ok fara í annat sinn upp til forsins ok kasta út netinu ok binda við svá þungt, at eigi skyli undir mega fara. Ferr þá Loki fyrir netinu.
But Loki had gone ahead and lay down between two stones. They dragged the net right over him and felt something living underneath, so they went up to the falls a second time and cast the net again, weighting it down so heavily this time that nothing could slip beneath it.
En er hann sér, at skammt var til sævar þá hleypr hann upp yfir þinulinn ok rennir upp í forsinn. Nú sá æsirnir, hvar hann fór, fara enn upp til forsins ok skipta liðinu í tvá staði, en Þórr veðr eftir miðri ánni, ok fara svá út til sævar.
Loki swam ahead of the net, and when he saw he was close to the sea, he leapt clean over the top rope and dashed back up into the falls. The Aesir saw where he'd gone, went back up to the falls, split their party in two, and Thor waded down the middle of the river, and so they made their way out toward the sea.
En er Loki sér tvá kosti, var þat lífsháski at hlaupa á sæinn, en hinn var annarr at hlaupa enn yfir netit, ok þat gerði hann, hljóp sem snarast yfir netþinulinn. Þórr greip eftir honum ok tók um hann, ok renndi hann í hendi honum, svá at staðar nam höndin við sporðinn, ok er fyrir þá sök laxinn aftrmjór. Nú var Loki tekinn griðalauss ok farit með hann í helli nökkurn.
Loki now had two choices: to risk his life by dashing out to sea, or to leap the net a second time — and that's what he did, jumping as fast as he could over the top rope. Thor grabbed for him and caught him, but he slipped through Thor's grip until his hand closed on the tail — which is why the salmon has such a narrow tail today. Loki was now taken without any promise of safe conduct, and they carried him to a certain cave.
Þá tóku þeir þrjár hellur ok settu á egg ok lustu rauf á hellunni hverri. Þá váru teknir synir Loka, Váli ok Nari eða Narfi. Brugðu æsir Vála í vargslíki ok reif hann í sundr Narfa, bróður sinn. Þá tóku æsir þarma hans ok bundu Loka með yfir þá þrjá eggsteina. Stendr einn undir herðum, annarr undir lendum, þriði undir knésbótum, ok urðu þau bönd at járni.
There they took three flat stones, stood them on edge, and drilled a hole through each one. Then Loki's sons, Vali and Nari, or Narfi, were brought forward. The Aesir turned Vali into a wolf, and he tore his own brother Narfi apart. Then the Aesir took Narfi's entrails and used them to bind Loki down over the three stones — one stands under his shoulders, one under his loins, one under the backs of his knees — and those bonds turned to iron.
Þá tók Skaði eitrorm ok festi upp yfir hann, svá at eitrit skyldi drjúpa ór orminum í andlit honum, en Sigyn, kona hans, stendr hjá honum ok heldr mundlaug undir eitrdropa. En þá er full er mundlaugin, þá gengr hon ok slær út eitrinu, en meðan drýpr eitrit í andlit honum. Þá kippist hann svá hart við, at jörð öll skelfr. Þat kallið þér landskjálfta. Þar liggr hann í böndum til ragnarökrs."
Then Skadi took a venomous snake and fixed it up above him, so that venom would drip from it onto his face, but his wife Sigyn stands beside him, holding a basin under the drops. When the basin fills, she goes to empty it out, and while she's gone, the venom falls on his face. Then he convulses so violently that the whole earth shakes — that's what you call an earthquake. There he lies bound, until the doom of the gods."