The Foundational Principle by Which the Whole Chapter is Understood:
     The Principle of Two True Authors:  Scriptures are truly the result of the work of the Holy Spirit, but they are also truly the result of the work of human authors working under the Spirit's inspiration.

 “In composing the sacred books, God chose men and while employed by Him they made use of their powers and abilities, so that with Him acting in them and through them, they, as true authors, consigned to writing everything and only those things which He wanted.”

Results of This View For Biblical Interpretation:

1. Because of the divine authorship, we hold that the Scriptures are inerrant in what they intend to teach about the revelation of God and the history of salvation.
 “Therefore, since everything asserted by the inspired authors or sacred writers must be held to be asserted by the Holy Spirit, it follows that the books of Scripture must be acknowledged as teaching firmly, faithfully, and without error that truth which God wanted put into the sacred writings for the sake of our salvation.”

2. But, because of the human authorship, one must also take into account the literary forms used by the human authors, in order to determine what the text really intends to teach.

 “However, since God speaks in sacred Scripture through men in human fashion, 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.”

“Those who search out the intention of the sacred writers must, among other things, have regard for "literary forms."  For truth is proposed and expressed in a variety of ways, depending on whether a text is history of one kind or another, or whether its form is that of prophecy, poetry, or some other type of speech.  The interpreter must investigate what meaning the sacred writer intended to express and actually expressed in particular circumstances as he used contemporary literary forms in accordance with the situation of his own time and culture.  For the correct understanding of what the sacred author wanted to assert, due attention must be paid to the customary and characteristic styles of perceiving, speaking, and narrating which prevailed at the time of the sacred writer, and to the customs men normally followed at that period in their everyday dealings with one another.”

3. And yet, because of the divine authorship of the whole of sacred Scripture, we may also take into account the content and unity of the whole of sacred Scripture when interpreting various parts.

 “But, since holy Scripture must be read and interpreted according to the same Spirit by whom it was written, 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 brought to light.  The living tradition of the whole Church must be taken into account along with the harmony which exists between elements of the faith.”

Two Final Admonitions:

1. Since the Scriptures are inspired by the Holy Spirit, and since the special guidance of the Holy Spirit and the charism of teaching faithfully and authentically was promised in special way to the apostles and their successors, therefore:
 “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.”

2. Summing up, the Council returns to the opening image of the two authors, comparing the relationship between the two to the Incarnation of God's Word.  In the Incarnation, the Word of God became man.  In sacred Scripture, the word of God becomes incarnate in human speech and human forms of communicating.
 
“In sacred Scripture, therefore, while the truth and holiness of God always remain intact, the marvelous "condescension" of eternal wisdom is clearly shown, "that we may learn the gentle kindness of God, which words cannot express, and how far He has gone in adapting His language with thoughtful concern for our weak human nature."  For the words of God, expressed in human language, have been made like human discourse, just as of old the Word of the eternal Father, when he took to Himself the weak flesh of humanity, became like other men.”