translation help with bible verse

Question

I would like help translating the following sentence: Si le creyeran a Moisés, me creerían a mí, porque de mí escribió él. My difficulty is with the phrase, “me creerían a mí.” To my untrained mind it seems to be saying: you would believe in me me.

Answer 1

Creerían is 3rd person plural. It could be "you, plural" but it's more likely "they".

Me creerían means "they would believe in me". (Or your, plural)

The "a mi" at the end is not necessary, and is used for emphasis only.

Answer 2

I think this is John 5:46. The King James Version translates this, in archaic English:

For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.

The New International Version, a late 20th century translation, has:

If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me.

And the Good News Bible, also a late 20th century translation intended to be easy to read, has:

If you had really believed Moses, you would have believed me, for he wrote about me.

I can post the Greek if you want to have a go at it.

Note about the Greek: the verbs are in the second person plural.

I didn't look it up, but this is Jesus speaking, is it not? Moses didn't write about John, but Jesus. - 0074b507, Aug 26, 2010

Yes, Jesus is speaking; John is quoting him. It is part of a long speech beginning in John 5:19, in response to the religious authorities who were upset with Jesus about healing on the Sabbath. - revmaf, Aug 26, 2010

Ah, if it is confusing, the reference John 5:46 is simply the shorthand way of referring to the chapter and verse of the Gospel of John in the Christian New Testament, which was originally written in Greek. - revmaf, Aug 26, 2010

Thank you, but I was just being lazy and didn't feel like doing the research. - 0074b507, Aug 26, 2010

.) - revmaf, Aug 26, 2010