[1] Páll Eggert Ólason described Þorlákur as: "A gentle man and untroubled, generally more quiet than noisy.

Known as Þorláksbiblía [is], it was largely a reprinting of the earlier Guðbrandsbiblía, but with revisions made based upon the Danish-language 1607 translation by Hans Poulsen Resen [da].

[6] He also translated several books by the German theologian Johann Gerhard, including Meditationes Sacrae in 1630 and The Daily Exercise of Piety in 1652.

Þorlákur was also interested in archaeology and natural history, keeping up active correspondence with others in Iceland and abroad, including the Danish scientist Ole Worm.

[8] Among other works, Þorlákur published was Björn Jónsson's history of the 1627 Barbary pirates' raid on Iceland.