Who commands the sun, and it does not rise: the author shifts from speaking of the earth in verse 6 to speaking of the heavens. The agent of the verb continues to be God. The command not to rise is given to the sun, which is here not the usual term for sun, but rather a poetic term. In some languages it may be necessary to shift to direct address; for example, “God says to the sun, ‘Do not rise,’ and to the stars, ‘Do not shine.’ ” Who seals up the stars: the action of sealing up the stars would be to cover them and not allow them to shine. So Job describes God as one who keeps the heavens in darkness, and this is similar to their condition in 3.4-9, when he called on God to “let that day (of his conception) be darkness.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, Wiliam. A Handbook on Job. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1992. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .