How do you determine the correct understanding of scripture?

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sometimes it’s like a lightbulb; sometimes you have to read the fine print
 
By invoking the Holy Spirit in the state of grace is a good start. 🙂
 
Yes. But, that doesn’t mean you won’t have to read the fine print.
 
almost2 said:
How do you determine the correct understanding of scripture?
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The safest approach is to read it according to the understanding of those who wrote it. The Teaching of the Apostles has been preserved infallibly in the CAtholic Church by the Holy Spirit, so the Church will give sure and reliable guidance on understanding the content.

What is your method of reading the Scripture, and what Bible are you using?
 
Ultimately, any correct understanding of Sacred Scripture must be consistent with the official teachings of the Catholic Church.

The document of the Second Vatican Council, Dei Verbum (On Divine Revelation), says:
  1. . . . But the task of authentically interpreting the word of God, whether written or handed on, (8) has been entrusted exclusively to the living teaching office of the Church [i.e., to the bishops in communion with the successor of Peter, the bishop of Rome], (9) whose authority is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ. This teaching office is not above the word of God, but serves it, teaching only what has been handed on, listening to it devoutly, guarding it scrupulously and explaining it faithfully in accord with a divine commission and with the help of the Holy Spirit, it draws from this one deposit of faith everything which it presents for belief as divinely revealed. . . .
  2. …
  3. However, since God speaks in Sacred Scripture through men in human fashion, (6) the interpreter of Sacred Scripture, in order to see clearly what God wanted to communicate to us, should carefully investigate what meaning the sacred writers really intended, and what God wanted to manifest by means of their words.
    To search out the intention of the sacred writers, attention should be given, among other things, to “literary forms.” For truth is set forth and expressed differently in texts which are variously historical, prophetic, poetic, or of other forms of discourse. The interpreter must investigate what meaning the sacred writer intended to express and actually expressed in particular circumstances by using contemporary literary forms in accordance with the situation of his own time and culture. (7) For the correct understanding of what the sacred author wanted to assert, due attention must be paid to the customary and characteristic styles of feeling, speaking and narrating which prevailed at the time of the sacred writer, and to the patterns men normally employed at that period in their everyday dealings with one another. (8)
    But, since Holy Scripture must be read and interpreted in the sacred spirit in which it was written, (9) no less serious attention must be given to the content and unity of the whole of Scripture if the meaning of the sacred texts is to be correctly worked out. The living tradition of the whole Church must be taken into account along with the harmony which exists between elements of the faith. It is the task of exegetes to work according to these rules toward a better understanding and explanation of the meaning of Sacred Scripture, so that through preparatory study the judgment of the Church may mature. For all of what has been said about the way of interpreting Scripture is subject finally to the judgment of the Church, which carries out the divine commission and ministry of guarding and interpreting the word of God. (10)
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The first thing I do is come to the realization that there is absolutely no way I, on my own, can determine the correct understanding of everything in scripture. Once I’ve humbled myself it becomes much easier to read without having to work through contradictions.

Don’t get me wrong, when I read a verse I read it in the context of the surrounding verses. If it is not crystal clear I go and read it in the context of the entire chapter. If still not clear I read the commentary in my Ignatius study Bible. This will usually clear things up and point me to other verses NT and OT that help me understand what the inspired writer was trying to say.

Some things are as clear as the words on the page, but others need in depth understanding (historically, theologically and culturally). When these are needed I find it best to go with the experts, the teachings of the Catholic Church, who has been studying the Bible for nearly 2000 years now.

God Bless
 
Simple logic ought to be employed when reading Scripture. For instance, if one line (Gen 8:21) indicates that YHWH will never again send a world-wide catastrophe to destroy all life on earth while another passage predicts just such a disaster (Jeremiah 25:33), then a contradiction exists which needs to be logically resolved.
 
One of the ways is to realize that every book/letter was written at a specific time frame for a specific audience. I think one needs to take that into account and put the given text in its correct historical context and perspective as much a possible in order to try and gain a better understanding of what was likely meant for that audience at that particular point in history. i.e. what was going on in the word or in that neck of the woods at that time - how did/could it impact what was written, etc., etc.
 
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From the Catechism:

"III. THE HOLY SPIRIT, INTERPRETER OF SCRIPTURE

109 "In Sacred Scripture, God speaks to man in a human way. To interpret Scripture correctly, the reader must be attentive to what the human authors truly wanted to affirm, and to what God wanted to reveal to us by their words.75

110 "In order to discover the sacred authors’ intention, the reader must take into account the conditions of their time and culture, the literary genres in use at that time, and the modes of feeling, speaking and narrating then current. "For the fact is that truth is differently presented and expressed in the various types of historical writing, in prophetical and poetical texts, and in other forms of literary expression."76

111 "But since Sacred Scripture is inspired, there is another and no less important principle of correct interpretation, without which Scripture would remain a dead letter. "Sacred Scripture must be read and interpreted in the light of the same Spirit by whom it was written."77

"The Second Vatican Council indicates three criteria for interpreting Scripture in accordance with the Spirit who inspired it.78

112 "1. Be especially attentive “to the content and unity of the whole Scripture”. Different as the books which compose it may be, Scripture is a unity by reason of the unity of God’s plan, of which Christ Jesus is the center and heart, open since his Passover.79
Code: 
"The phrase "heart of Christ" can refer to Sacred Scripture, which makes known his heart, closed before the Passion, as the Scripture was obscure. But the Scripture has been opened since the Passion; since those who from then on have understood it, consider and discern in what way the prophecies must be interpreted.80
113 “2. Read the Scripture within “the living Tradition of the whole Church”. According to a saying of the Fathers, Sacred Scripture is written principally in the Church’s heart rather than in documents and records, for the Church carries in her Tradition the living memorial of God’s Word, and it is the Holy Spirit who gives her the spiritual interpretation of the Scripture (”. . . according to the spiritual meaning which the Spirit grants to the Church"81).

114 "3. Be attentive to the analogy of faith.82 By “analogy of faith” we mean the coherence of the truths of faith among themselves and within the whole plan of Revelation.

"The senses of Scripture
 
115 "According to an ancient tradition, one can distinguish between two senses of Scripture: the literal and the spiritual, the latter being subdivided into the allegorical, moral and anagogical senses. The profound concordance of the four senses guarantees all its richness to the living reading of Scripture in the Church.

116 "The literal sense is the meaning conveyed by the words of Scripture and discovered by exegesis, following the rules of sound interpretation: "All other senses of Sacred Scripture are based on the literal."83

117 "The spiritual sense. Thanks to the unity of God’s plan, not only the text of Scripture but also the realities and events about which it speaks can be signs.
  1. The allegorical sense. We can acquire a more profound understanding of events by recognizing their significance in Christ; thus the crossing of the Red Sea is a sign or type of Christ’s victory and also of Christian Baptism.84
  2. The moral sense. The events reported in Scripture ought to lead us to act justly. As St. Paul says, they were written “for our instruction”.85
  3. The anagogical sense (Greek: anagoge, “leading”). We can view realities and events in terms of their eternal significance, leading us toward our true homeland: thus the Church on earth is a sign of the heavenly Jerusalem.86
118 "A medieval couplet summarizes the significance of the four senses:
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The Letter speaks of deeds; Allegory to faith;
The Moral how to act; Anagogy our destiny.87
119 "It is the task of exegetes to work, according to these rules, towards a better understanding and explanation of the meaning of Sacred Scripture in order that their research may help the Church to form a firmer judgement. For, of course, all that has been said about the manner of interpreting Scripture is ultimately subject to the judgement of the Church which exercises the divinely conferred commission and ministry of watching over and interpreting the Word of God."88

“But I would not believe in the Gospel, had not the authority of the Catholic Church already moved me.89”
 
I believe that ancient prophesy which has not yet been fulfilled must understood in light of 20th century developments. Isaiah predicts “Chariots like the tempest,” and Jeremiah refers to “a mighty tempest” rising from the far ends of the earth.

Chariots are vehicles of war. Could a modern “chariot like a tempest” that rises from the other side of the world be an ICBM? The very next line of Jeremiah (25:33) gives a pretty good description of the aftermath of a global nuclear war.

Is all of our convoluted theology for interpreting Scripture blinding us to a simple but terrible truth?
 
Various ways.

One thing you can do to gain insight into the scriptures is use Catholic commentaries on sacred scripture from sources like: the Navarre Study Bible Commentaries, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture, and Ignatius Commentaries.
 
I ask the question on this forum and make the decision based on the number of likes it receives. 🤨
 
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