Why Bible Difficulties Must Be Approached with Reverence and Care

A Bible difficulty is not a defect in Scripture. It is a place where the reader has not yet accounted for all the facts, the wording, the historical setting, the grammar, the context, the original-language issue, the copyist question, or the theological harmony of the passage. Since “all Scripture is inspired by God” according to Second Timothy 3:16, the Christian does not approach a difficult passage as a judge standing above the Word of God. He approaches it as a student standing under divine instruction. Second Peter 1:21 explains that “men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” This means that Scripture’s origin is divine, while its communication came through real human authors using real languages, real historical settings, and ordinary forms of writing. Therefore, Bible difficulties must be handled with reverence, patience, and careful attention to what the inspired writer actually wrote.

The first procedure is to begin with the conviction that Jehovah’s Word is truthful. Psalm 119:160 states, “The sum of your word is truth.” Jesus Himself said in John 17:17, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” This conviction does not permit careless explanations, forced harmonizations, or ignoring the facts. Rather, it requires the reader to do more work, not less. A believer who is confident in the truthfulness of Scripture is willing to examine grammar, compare parallel passages, evaluate manuscript evidence, and distinguish between what the Bible actually says and what a reader has assumed. The difficulty often lies not in the text but in the interpreter’s limited information, mistaken expectation, or failure to read the passage according to its own literary and historical setting.

Establish the Exact Nature of the Difficulty

The second procedure is to define the difficulty with precision. Many alleged contradictions collapse once the actual claim is stated accurately. A reader should ask whether the issue concerns chronology, wording, numbers, names, geography, doctrine, translation, copying, or the relationship between two accounts. For example, when Matthew 27:5 says Judas went away and hanged himself, and Acts 1:18 describes his body falling and bursting open, the difficulty is not that one passage says Judas died and another says he lived. Both passages concern the same death, but they give different parts of the event. Matthew gives the manner of his self-caused death, while Acts gives the disgraceful aftermath connected with the field. These are not competing statements; they are complementary details.

A similar procedure applies to differences in Gospel accounts. Matthew 8:28 mentions two demon-possessed men in the region of the Gadarenes, while Mark 5:2 and Luke 8:27 focus on one man. This is not a contradiction, because saying that one man was prominent does not deny that another was present. A report may focus on the speaker, the more violent sufferer, or the man whose later testimony became most memorable, while another report includes the fuller number. The reader creates a contradiction only by adding the word “only” where Scripture does not place it. The careful question is not, “Why do these accounts look different at first glance?” but, “Do the statements actually exclude one another?” In this case, they do not.

Use the Historical-Grammatical Method Consistently

The third procedure is to use the Historical-Grammatical method consistently. This method asks what the words meant in their grammatical structure, literary form, and historical setting. It seeks the author’s intended meaning under divine inspiration rather than inventing symbolic meanings or importing modern assumptions into the text. For instance, Genesis 1:5 uses “day” in connection with evening and morning, yet Genesis 2:4 uses “day” in a broader sense when referring to the time “in which Jehovah God made earth and heaven.” The term must be interpreted by context, not by an automatic modern assumption. The creation “days” are periods of time, not necessarily twenty-four-hour periods, and the text itself provides the basis for that understanding.

This same method prevents readers from flattening different types of writing into one style. Historical narrative, poetry, legal instruction, wisdom sayings, prophetic judgment, Gospel narration, and apostolic letters each communicate truth, but they do so according to their own forms. Proverbs 22:6 says that training up a child in the proper way will have enduring results, but Proverbs is wisdom instruction, not a mechanical guarantee that removes human responsibility. Psalm 91 uses poetic language of Jehovah’s protection, but poetry does not promise that faithful believers will never experience harm in a wicked world. The Bible must be read according to the grammar and form Jehovah used through the inspired writers.

Read the Immediate Context Before Moving Elsewhere

The fourth procedure is to read the immediate context. Many difficulties arise when a verse is isolated from the paragraph, argument, or narrative in which it appears. Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” The surrounding context, Philippians 4:10–14, shows that Paul is speaking about enduring both abundance and need while remaining faithful. The verse is not a promise that a person can accomplish any personal ambition, win every contest, or avoid hardship. It is a statement about Christ-given strength for faithful endurance in changing circumstances.

Another example appears in Matthew 7:1, “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged.” Isolated from context, this verse is often used to forbid all moral evaluation. Yet Matthew 7:5 instructs the disciple first to remove the rafter from his own eye and then see clearly to remove the straw from his brother’s eye. Matthew 7:15 also commands believers to beware of false prophets. Therefore, Jesus condemned hypocritical judgment, not righteous discernment. The immediate context resolves the difficulty by showing the kind of judging Jesus prohibited and the kind of discernment He required.

Compare Scripture with Scripture Without Forcing the Text

The fifth procedure is to compare Scripture with Scripture. Because Jehovah is the ultimate Author of Scripture, one passage will not contradict another. However, comparison must be careful. The interpreter must not force one passage to say what another passage says; rather, he must allow each passage to contribute its own inspired detail. Genesis 15:6 says Abraham believed Jehovah, and it was counted to him as righteousness. James 2:21–24 says Abraham was shown righteous by works when he offered Isaac. Romans 4:1–5 uses Abraham to show that a person is not declared righteous by works of law, while James addresses a dead claim of faith that produces no obedience. The difficulty disappears when one observes that Paul is opposing works as the basis of being declared righteous, whereas James is opposing empty profession without obedient faith.

The same procedure helps with Jesus’ words in John 14:28, “the Father is greater than I.” This does not deny the unique divine identity of the Son, because John 1:1 identifies the Word as divine, and John 20:28 records Thomas addressing the risen Jesus as “My Lord and my God.” John 14:28 concerns Jesus’ obedient position in His earthly mission and His return to the Father. The comparison of passages must preserve both truths: the Son’s unique divine identity and His willing submission in the work of redemption.

Distinguish Between What Scripture Says and What Readers Infer

The sixth procedure is to separate the inspired statement from human inference. A reader may unconsciously add assumptions to the text and then accuse Scripture of contradiction when those assumptions fail. Genesis 4:17 says Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. Some object that the Bible never mentions where Cain found a wife. Yet Genesis 5:4 states that Adam “fathered sons and daughters.” Since early humanity descended from Adam and Eve, Cain married a female descendant within the human family. The supposed difficulty comes from assuming that Genesis must name every child of Adam and Eve before Cain’s marriage. It does not.

Another example concerns the wise men in Matthew 2:1–12. The text does not say there were three wise men. It says they brought three categories of gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The number three is an inference from the gifts, not a statement of Scripture. When readers treat tradition as though it were inspired text, they create unnecessary problems. The proper procedure is to ask, “What does the verse state?” and then, “What have I added to it?”

Recognize Ordinary Language and Sufficient Precision

The seventh procedure is to recognize that the Bible uses ordinary language with sufficient precision for its purpose. Scripture does not always speak with the technical precision demanded by modern laboratory description, but this does not make it inaccurate. Matthew 13:32 describes the mustard seed as “the smallest of all the seeds,” in the setting of seeds commonly sown in the land. Jesus was not giving a botanical catalog of every seed in the world. He was using ordinary agricultural language understood by His hearers. The point is that something very small becomes surprisingly large.

This principle also applies to rounded numbers. If a narrative says about four thousand men were fed, as in Matthew 15:38, it is not claiming an exact census of every person present. If another passage gives a rounded figure for soldiers, captives, or years, the reader should not demand modern statistical formatting. The Bible communicates truthfully according to ordinary conventions of speech and writing. Truth does not require maximal numerical exactness in every setting; it requires accuracy according to the author’s purpose and form of expression.

Account for Translation and Original-Language Issues

The eighth procedure is to check whether the difficulty arises from translation. A word in Hebrew or Greek may have a range of meaning that no single English word captures perfectly. For example, the Hebrew word often rendered “soul” refers to the living person, creature, life, or self, depending on context. Genesis 2:7 says man “became a living soul,” not that man received an immortal soul. Ezekiel 18:4 says, “the soul who sins will die.” This removes a doctrinal difficulty created by later ideas about inherent human immortality. Man is a soul; death is cessation of personhood; eternal life is a gift from God, not a natural possession.

Translation also matters in passages concerning Sheol, Hades, and Gehenna. Sheol and Hades refer to gravedom, the condition of the dead, while Gehenna refers to eternal destruction. A translation that renders these words indiscriminately with one English term can create confusion. Revelation 20:14 says death and Hades are thrown into the lake of fire, which shows that Hades is not the same as the final destruction pictured by the lake of fire. When the original terms are respected, the doctrine becomes clearer and alleged contradictions diminish.

Consider Copyist Issues Without Weakening Inerrancy

The ninth procedure is to distinguish between the inspired original text and later copyist mistakes. The original writings were inspired, inerrant, and infallible. Handwritten copies were made by human scribes, and scribes were not inspired in the same way as the original Bible writers. Therefore, occasional spelling changes, omissions, repeated words, altered word order, and marginal notes entering some copies do not overthrow the doctrine of inerrancy. They show that manuscripts had to be copied by imperfect humans in a world affected by sin and limitation.

This is why The Making of Bible Manuscripts matters for apologetics. Before printing, copies were handwritten. A tired scribe might skip from one similar ending to another, repeat a word, spell a name differently, or harmonize a familiar phrase with another passage. These are not divine errors. They are transmission issues, and they can be studied by comparing manuscripts. The abundance of manuscript evidence does not bury the original text; it gives scholars the material needed to identify where copying changes entered and to recover the original wording with a very high degree of confidence.

Treat Parallel Accounts as Complementary Witnesses

The tenth procedure is to understand that parallel accounts often select different details for different purposes. The four Gospels do not read like one person mechanically repeating the same wording. They present truthful accounts from distinct perspectives under inspiration. Matthew emphasizes Jesus as Messiah and King, Mark highlights action and service, Luke writes with orderly historical concern, and John presents selected signs that support faith in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, according to John 20:31.

When one Gospel mentions one angel at the tomb and another mentions two, there is no contradiction unless the first says there was only one. Mentioning the speaker or the more prominent figure does not deny the presence of another. When one account records the wording over Jesus’ head as “This is Jesus the King of the Jews” and another gives “The King of the Jews,” the difference reflects abbreviation of the same charge rather than contradiction. Ancient writers often reported the substance of a statement without reproducing every word in identical form. The question is whether the meaning is truthful, not whether every parallel sentence is a photocopy.

Avoid Doctrinal Systems That Control the Text

The eleventh procedure is to allow Scripture to control doctrine rather than forcing Scripture into a predetermined system. For instance, passages about salvation must be read in their own terms. Jesus said in Matthew 7:13–14 that the road leading to life is narrow and must be followed. First Corinthians 9:24–27 uses the language of disciplined Christian effort. Hebrews 10:36 says believers need endurance so that after doing the will of God they may receive what is promised. These passages present salvation as a path or journey of faithful obedience, grounded in Christ’s sacrifice, not as a mere past condition detached from perseverance.

The same care must be applied to the Holy Spirit. The Spirit guided the inspired writers so that Scripture is God-breathed. Second Peter 1:21 says men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. Today, Christians are guided by the Spirit-inspired Word, not by private revelations that add to Scripture. Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” When a person claims an inward message that bypasses or corrects Scripture, the claim must be rejected. The Holy Spirit does not lead anyone away from the written Word He inspired.

Maintain Moral and Spiritual Humility Before the Text

The twelfth procedure is humility. Some Bible difficulties remain difficult because modern readers lack full historical information, not because Scripture is wrong. Deuteronomy 29:29 states, “The secret things belong to Jehovah our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our sons forever.” This verse does not excuse laziness. It teaches proper limits. The reader must work diligently with what Jehovah has revealed and avoid pretending to know what has not been revealed.

Humility also means refusing to use a difficulty as an excuse for unbelief. Many objections are moral before they are intellectual. Romans 1:18 speaks of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. A person may reject a passage not because it lacks evidence, but because it confronts his conduct, pride, or cherished assumptions. The Christian apologist should answer objections with patience and evidence, but he must also recognize that Scripture calls the reader to repentance, faith, and obedience. Bible difficulties are not entertainment puzzles; they are moments that call for reverent study before Jehovah.

Apply the Procedure to a Concrete Example

Consider the apparent difference between Second Samuel 24:1 and First Chronicles 21:1. Second Samuel 24:1 says Jehovah’s anger was kindled against Israel, and David was incited to number Israel. First Chronicles 21:1 says Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel. The careless reader says, “Which was it, Jehovah or Satan?” The careful reader applies the proper procedure. The texts are not describing the same agency in the same sense. First Chronicles identifies Satan as the direct tempter. Second Samuel describes Jehovah permitting the event as judgment against Israel. Scripture elsewhere shows that Jehovah may allow Satanic action without being the author of evil. Job 1:12 records Jehovah permitting Satan to act within limits, while Job 2:3 distinguishes Satan’s destructive intent from Jehovah’s righteousness.

The harmony is clear: Satan directly incited David; Jehovah permitted the action as part of judgment against Israel. David remained responsible because he chose wrongly, as Second Samuel 24:10 shows when David confessed, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done.” This example demonstrates why procedures matter. One must define the difficulty, read both contexts, distinguish direct and permitted agency, compare related Scripture, and preserve Jehovah’s holiness. The answer does not require evasion. It requires disciplined interpretation.

Why the Procedures Strengthen Faith

These procedures do not weaken confidence in Scripture; they strengthen it. The Bible does not fear examination. Acts 17:11 commends the Beroeans because they received the word eagerly and examined the Scriptures daily to see whether the things taught were so. First Thessalonians 5:21 says, “Examine all things; hold fast to what is good.” Christian faith is not blind acceptance of confusion. It is informed trust in the God who has spoken truthfully and has preserved His Word through an abundance of evidence.

The reader who handles difficulties this way becomes better equipped for evangelism. First Peter 3:15 commands Christians to be ready to make a defense to everyone who asks for a reason for the hope within them. That defense must be given with mildness and respect, but it must also be substantive. A believer should be able to explain why parallel accounts differ, why copyist mistakes do not equal inspired errors, why translation matters, and why context governs meaning. The recommended procedure is not panic, denial, or speculation. It is reverent, grammatical, historical, contextual, and faithful study of Jehovah’s written Word.

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