St. Augustine on the Scriptures

Reading St. Augustine's advice on reading scripture mostly reaffirmed some of my beliefs. Obviously there's the issue of not understanding certain historical and cultural references that were made in the scripture. An example is the significance of certain numbers, like the number three or ten. There are also references made to plants and animals that don't have such significance in modern society, such as the hyssop. According to St. Augustine, the hyssop is used to clear one's lungs and keep them from boasting. The information that St. Augustine provides is interesting, but I personally am pretty aware of cultural and historical differences.

St. Augustine also writes about the different translations of the scriptures. He basically states that in order to understand the scriptures fully, one must have read all of the translations. When it comes to being accuracy, the Greek edition is of the highest quality. Obviously, it is not feasible for normal people to read all editions of the scripture. Therefore, it's very important to discriminate meaning when reading the psalms. He talks about how some translations misinterpret and change the original meaning of the psalms. It is important to read with a cautious eye. While his advice is useful, it reaffirmed what I thought about reading scripture. Since the Hebrew was translated over and over into eventually the English that I was reading, I was carefully not to take it as the complete representation of the original texts. Scriptures are meant to be read carefully, and with a grain of salt (in the case of the translations).