After Moses received the second set of tablets from God, we read:
Moses hastened to bow low to the ground in homage, and said, “If I have gained Your favor, O Lord, pray, let the Lord go in our midst, even though this is a stiffnecked people. Pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for Your own!”—Exodus 34:8-9 (NJPS)
Other translations render the appeal differently:
And he said: 'If now I have found grace 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.'”—Exodus 34:9 (JPS)
A survey of a number versions show that translators are evenly split on whether Moses is asking for the Lord to overlook the stubbornness or whether he is asking Him to come in their midst for the very reason of their obstinateness. What are the considerations used to arrive at these opposite renderings?