What should I do when the Bible seems to contradict itself?

Chuck Smith, The Claims of Christ, chapter 1: I have encountered many people who have tossed out the faith based upon some supposed contradiction or error they have found in Scripture. Many of these problems can be avoided by an understanding of certain rules of biblical interpretation that we need to know and follow. First of all, let me say that I don't pretend to understand everything that is in the Bible. There are a lot of things in the Bible that I quite frankly will confess to you that I don't understand. If I were smarter, I might. However, if my interpretation of a passage is blatantly contradictory to another verse of scripture, then my interpretation is wrong. The scripture isn't wrong, my interpretation is wrong. So many people are ready to say, "Well, the Bible is wrong, because look..." No, the Bible isn't wrong. The interpretation is at fault. From Chuck Smith's books, used by permission of The Word For Today.

Verified. Every scripture quotation on this page has been checked word-for-word against the King James text. Last reviewed 2026-10-15.

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What should I do when the Bible seems to contradict itself? → wsb.bible/answers/what-should-i-do-when-the-bible-seems-to-contradict-itself

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