But now, if thou wilt forgive their sin is an incomplete thought. Revised Standard Version and others add a dash to show that Moses does not complete the sentence. New Jerusalem Bible adds ellipsis points (…) as in 19.25. Some scholars believe a word has dropped out of the Hebrew manuscript, especially since other ancient manuscripts add the word “forgive!” So Revised English Bible has “Now if you will forgive them, forgive.” And New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “Now, if You will forgive their sin [well and good],” with the added words in brackets to show they have been added. New American Bible interprets this in a different way: “If you would only forgive their sin!” The meaning, of course, is clear, so Good News Translation has “Please forgive their sin.” Another possible rendering is “But now I plead with you to forgive their sin.”

And if not is literally “and if nothing,” meaning “but if you won’t” (Good News Translation). Blot me, I pray thee is literally “you [singular] wipe me out, please.” This means “erase me” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), “strike me out” (New American Bible), or “remove my name.” Out of thy book which thou hast written is literally “from your scroll [or, document] which you wrote.” Nothing else is said about such a document, but it can refer to “the book of the living” (Psa 69.28) or “a book of remembrance” (Mal 3.16). (See also Psa 40.7 and 139.16.) Good News Translation‘s addition, “from the book in which you have written the names of your people,” will be helpful in languages where the content of the writing must be mentioned.

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .