Speaking of Whether We Can Know What Scripture is Actually Saying...

This article answers the question fairly well.

"To take the Bible literally simply means that you take it at face value, which is the proper task of hermeneutics. If it is poetry, read and interpret it as poetry. If it is history, read and interpret it as history. It also means that you take into account the historical-cultural context, and the wider theological context of the entire canon.

Is this so difficult to understand?"