Then the man standing among the myrtle trees spoke up and said, “These are the ones whom the Lord has sent to walk about ¹  on the earth.”

The messenger replied, “These are the four spirits ¹  of heaven that have been presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth.

The Lord will then be king over all the earth. In that day the Lord will be seen as one with a single name. ¹ 

He will encourage fathers and their children to return to me, ¹  so that I will not come and strike the earth with judgment.” ² 

Then God said, “Let us make ¹  humankind ²  in our image, after our likeness, ³  so they may rule ⁴  over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the cattle, and over all the earth, ⁵  and over all the creatures that move ⁶  on the earth.”

Now ¹  no shrub of the field had yet grown on the earth, and no plant of the field ²  had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. ³ 

Bring out with you all the living creatures that are with you. Bring out ¹  every living thing, including the birds, animals, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. Let them increase ²  and be fruitful and multiply on the earth!” ³ 

Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, ¹  and you will spread out ²  to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ³  using your name and that of your descendants. ⁴ 

May there be ¹  an abundance ²  of grain in the earth; on the tops ³  of the mountains may it ⁴  sway! ⁵  May its ⁶  fruit trees ⁷  flourish ⁸  like the forests of Lebanon! ⁹  May its crops be as abundant as the grass of the earth!

So I recommend the enjoyment of life, ¹  for there is nothing better on earth ²  for a person to do ³  except ⁴  to eat, drink, and enjoy ⁵  life. ⁶  So ⁷  joy ⁸  will accompany him in his toil during the days of his life which God gives him on earth. ⁹ 

For look, the Lord is coming out of the place where he lives, ¹  to punish the sin of those who live on the earth. The earth will display the blood shed on it; it will no longer cover up its slain. ² 

Look up at the sky! Look at the earth below! For the sky will dissipate ¹  like smoke, and the earth will wear out like clothes; its residents will die like gnats. But the deliverance I give ²  is permanent; the vindication I provide ³  will not disappear. ⁴ 

Whoever pronounces a blessing in the earth ¹  will do so in the name of the faithful God; ²  whoever makes an oath in the earth will do so in the name of the faithful God. ³  For past problems will be forgotten; I will no longer think about them. ⁴ 

Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s angry judgment. The whole earth ¹  will be consumed by his fiery wrath. ²  Indeed, ³  he will bring terrifying destruction ⁴  on all who live on the earth.” ⁵ 

Now ¹  the earth ²  was without shape and empty, ³  and darkness ⁴  was over the surface of the watery deep, ⁵  but the Spirit of God ⁶  was moving ⁷  over the surface ⁸  of the water. ⁹ 

God blessed ¹  them and said ²  to them, “Be fruitful and multiply! Fill the earth and subdue it! ³  Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that moves on the ground.” ⁴ 

Then God said, “I now ¹  give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the entire earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. ² 

Look! You are driving me off the land ¹  today, and I must hide from your presence. ²  I will be a homeless wanderer on the earth; whoever finds me will kill me.”

But the Lord saw ¹  that the wickedness of humankind had become great on the earth. Every inclination ²  of the thoughts ³  of their minds ⁴  was only evil ⁵  all the time. ⁶ 

For in seven days ¹  I will cause it to rain ²  on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the ground every living thing that I have made.”