That clearly does not say that only the Earth is populated. It doesn’t even remotely deal with that notion.
I’m saying what is says, not what it doesn’t say. Feel free to extrapolate at your own risk.
The Bible is Gods word. If any part of it is untrue, it might as well all be untrue. I believe it’s all true, even if I can’t fully understand it. If God has plans he hasn’t told us about, then we’d know nothing about it, but he says he created an Earth, and created man (on Earth, in Eden), in His image. If he created any other place with men in His image, then he chose not to tell us about that and likely intends that we shall never meet. But if He had, why do you think He would not share such an important revelation with man?
So there are multiple reasons to believe that a search for life in space is not likely to bare fruit. One, He didn’t foretell that to us. Two, it seems to me His plan was for us to have a special relationship with Him. Three, if He didn’t tell us and we did find life beyond His word in the Bible, it says that we are not unique and may not have been designed for such a special relationship with Him. Many would interpret that as there is no God or no need for God. Wouldn’t that make the socialist happy?
This is not a topic I am going to get in an argument with anyone over. It’s just belief and faith. When I was younger, I would have used the statistical argument and evolution theory to say there has to be life out there just from the astronomical odds. But evolution has since been debunked, and intelligent design is too much of an argument to believe that we came forth from bog algae. We were created. JMHO.