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sele-weard āseted;sundor-nytte behēold
ymb aldor Dena,eoton-weard ābēad.^[1]
Hūru Gēata lēodgeorne trūwode
670mōdgan mægnes,Metodes hyldo.
Ðā hē him of dydeīsern-byrnan,
helm of hafelan,sealde his hyrsted sweord,
īrena cyst,ombiht-þegne,
ond gehealdan hēthilde-geātwe.
675Gesprsec þā se gōdagylp-worda sum,
Bēowulf *Gēata,ǣr hē on bed stige:Fol. 145b.
“Nō ic mē an here-wǣsmun^[2]hnāgran talige
gūþ-geweorcaþonne Grendel hine;
forþan ic hine sweordeswebban nelle,
680aldre benēotan,þēah ic eal mæge.
Nāt hē þāra gōda,þæt hēe mē ongēan slēa,
rand gehēawe,þēah ðe hē rōf sīe
nīþ-geweorca;ac wit on niht sculon
secge ofersittan,gif hē^[3] gesēcean dear
685wīg ofer wǣpen,ond siþðan wītig God
on swā hwæþere hond,hālig Dryhten,
mǣrðo dēme,swā him gemet þince.”
Hylde hine þā heaþo-dēor,hlēor-bolster onfēng
eorles andwlitan,ond hine ymb monig
690snellīc sǣ-rincsele-reste gebēah.
Nǣnig heora þōhte,þæt hē þanon scolde
eft eard-lufanǣfre gesēcean,
folc oþðe frēo-burh,þǣr hē āfēded wæs:

1. 668. Thorpe ‘eoton (acc.) weard (nom.) ābēad’; Heyne ‘eoton (dat.) weard (acc.) ābēad.’ The difficulty of the uninflected accus. eoton-weard seems less than those presented by these readings.
2. 677. Thorpe ‘wæstmum,’ Grein ‘wǣsmum.’
3. 684. MS. ‘het.’