The Meaning of Exodus 34:9 Explained

Exodus 34:9

KJV: And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.

YLT: and saith, 'If, I pray Thee, I have found grace in Thine eyes, O my Lord, let my Lord, I pray Thee, go in our midst (for it is a stiff-necked people), and thou hast forgiven our iniquity and our sin, and hast inherited us.'

Darby: and said, If indeed I have found grace in thine eyes, Lord, let the Lord, I pray thee, go in our midst; for it is a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for an inheritance!

ASV: And he said, If now I have found favor in thy sight, O Lord, let the Lord, I pray thee, go in the midst of us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And he said,  If now I have found  grace  in thy sight,  O Lord,  let my Lord,  I pray thee, go  among  us; for it [is] a stiffnecked  people;  and pardon  our iniquity  and our sin,  and take us for thine inheritance. 

What does Exodus 34:9 Mean?

Context Summary

Exodus 34:1-17 - The Covenant Of The Law Renewed
Before we can behold the vision of Eternal Love we must be willing to fulfill three conditions: (1) Earliness: "My soul, be ready in the morning." (2) Solitude: "No man shall come up with thee." (3) The open heart: "That God may write there what He will." God is always passing by and covering us with the shadow of His hand, and proclaiming His loving kindness and tender mercy. He keeps mercy for thousands, and limits the entail of sin to the third and fourth generation.
Whenever we get near to God we should begin to think of and pray for others. As the last notes of the divine procession were dying away Moses bowed his head and worshiped, saying, "Let the Lord go in the middle of us and forgive." It was as though he said, "If thou art a God like that, thou art the God that stiff-necked people need. Go with us, therefore, for thou canst bear with us." He went on to ask that they might be pardoned, and that God would account them His heritage. His request was more than granted! God entered into covenant with them and promised to drive out their enemies on conditions which He proceeded to enumerate.
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Chapter Summary: Exodus 34

1  The tablets are replaced
5  The name of the Lord proclaimed
8  Moses entreats God to go with them
10  God makes a covenant with them, repeating certain duties
28  Moses after forty days on the mount, comes down with the tablets
29  His face is radiant, and he covers it with a veil

What do the individual words in Exodus 34:9 mean?

And he said if now I have found grace in Your sight Lord let go I pray my Lord among us even though a people stiff of necked [we] are and pardon our iniquity and our sin and take us as Your inheritance
וַיֹּ֡אמֶר אִם־ נָא֩ מָצָ֨אתִי חֵ֤ן בְּעֵינֶ֙יךָ֙ אֲדֹנָ֔י יֵֽלֶךְ־ נָ֥א אֲדֹנָ֖י בְּקִרְבֵּ֑נוּ כִּ֤י עַם־ קְשֵׁה־ עֹ֙רֶף֙ ה֔וּא וְסָלַחְתָּ֛ לַעֲוֺנֵ֥נוּ וּלְחַטָּאתֵ֖נוּ וּנְחַלְתָּֽנוּ

וַיֹּ֡אמֶר  And  he  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
נָא֩  now 
Parse: Interjection
Root: נָא  
Sense: I (we) pray, now, please.
מָצָ֨אתִי  I  have  found 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: מָצָא  
Sense: to find, attain to.
חֵ֤ן  grace 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֵן  
Sense: favour, grace, charm.
בְּעֵינֶ֙יךָ֙  in  Your  sight 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, cdc, second person masculine singular
Root: עֹונָה 
Sense: eye.
אֲדֹנָ֔י  Lord 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֲדֹנָי  
Sense: my lord, lord.
יֵֽלֶךְ־  let  go 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
נָ֥א  I  pray 
Parse: Interjection
Root: נָא  
Sense: I (we) pray, now, please.
אֲדֹנָ֖י  my  Lord 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֲדֹנָי  
Sense: my lord, lord.
בְּקִרְבֵּ֑נוּ  among  us 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common plural
Root: קֶרֶב  
Sense: midst, among, inner part, middle.
כִּ֤י  even  though 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
עַם־  a  people 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
קְשֵׁה־  stiff 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular construct
Root: קָשֶׁה  
Sense: hard, cruel, severe, obstinate.
עֹ֙רֶף֙  of  necked 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֹרֶף  
Sense: neck, back of the neck, back.
ה֔וּא  [we]  are 
Parse: Pronoun, third person masculine singular
Root: הוּא 
Sense: he, she, it.
וְסָלַחְתָּ֛  and  pardon 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: סָלַח  
Sense: to forgive, pardon.
לַעֲוֺנֵ֥נוּ  our  iniquity 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, common singular construct, first person common plural
Root: עָוֹן  
Sense: perversity, depravity, iniquity, guilt or punishment of iniquity.
וּלְחַטָּאתֵ֖נוּ  and  our  sin 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l, Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common plural
Root: חַטָּאָה 
Sense: sin, sinful.
וּנְחַלְתָּֽנוּ  and  take  us  as  Your  inheritance 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, second person masculine singular, first person common plural
Root: נָחַל  
Sense: to get as a possession, acquire, inherit, possess.