Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? inquires if Job knows the laws that control the movements of the heavenly bodies, or as Good News Translation says, “laws that govern the skies.” This may also be expressed in some languages as “Do you know what roads the lights in the sky follow?” or “Do you know the way in which the lights in the sky are controlled?”

Can you establish their rule on the earth?: rule translates a word found nowhere else in the Old Testament. It may be related to a root having to do with “writing, or what is written.” In view of this Dhorme translates “Do you fulfill on earth what is written there?” The thought may be that the stars influence events on earth, and this is implied in Revised Standard Version‘s rendering, which means “Can you make the laws in the heavens apply to the earth?” That is also the thought of Good News Translation. Verse 33 may be rendered as “Do you know what rules the lights in the sky obey?” or “Can you make the same rules apply on the earth?” or “Can the same rules be followed on the earth?”

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 .