Interpreting the Scriptures is necessary to the Christian life, whether a Christian is seeking leadership in ministry or simply seeking to gain an understanding of the Scriptures. Whichever end of the spectrum you fall on, it is essential to interpret the Scriptures correctly. There is a certain method of interpretation that will lead the interpreter to success, this is the hermeneutic method. This method examines the study text, then moves on to the chapter in which it is found, then to the book, to the testament, to the other testament, and finally to the entire message of the Bible. When examining these different sections, it is essential to research the historical and literary components of the passage. Below is an example of the hermeneutic process put into practice on a passage from the book of Zephaniah. This student spent time examining the context and background of the passage and came to an individual interpretation of Zephaniah 1:14-18. Immediate text The following text is part of the prophecy given by Zephaniah to the people of Judah. This passage ends the first chapter with impending judgment as the people of Judah have been continually disobedient to God. The original text was written in Hebrew, a Hebrew translation of the study text follows the English one. The text reads: “The great day of the Lord is near, near and rapidly approaching; the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter; there the mighty one shouts. A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and distress, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of gloom and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpets and of battle cry against the fortified cities and against the battlements of the attic. I will bring anguish upon men, that they may walk as blind, ... middle of paper ... and attain fame quickly and soon after the fall. The tortoise had nothing until the birds gave him wings to make him fly. In the same sense, Okonkwo had left nothing from his father. He had to start over. Just as the tortoise fell to earth from the sky, so did Okonkwo's legacy once he was exiled. Once the reader comes to a full awareness of the comparison between Okonkwo and the turtle, he or she is allowed to look deeper and see another purpose. behind the parable. This aim is the harbinger of colonialism. What the tortoise did to the birds is an earlier version of what the white Christian missionaries did to the Igbo culture. The missionaries could have been perceived as having come and taken over society just as the tortoise came and took power from the birds. It goes without saying that this parable is essential to the novel Things Fall Apart