The questions now shift to the constellations of the stars. Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades…?: bind renders a verb meaning “to tie, knot together,” and so the question refers to tying up the seven stars of the cluster called the Pleiades to keep them together in a group. Chains translates a word found elsewhere only in 1 Samuel 15.32, which Revised Standard Version translates there as “cheerfully.” That meaning is obviously not appropriate here. Scholars point out that most probably the word used here is related to the verb “to tie,” but in this form two of the consonants have been switched. The combination bind the chains therefore means “to chain or tie together.” The words for the Pleiades and Orion were used in 9.9. See there for comments, and note the descriptions and the star maps in the Appendix, page 781.

Or loose the cords of Orion puts the question in the reverse sense in regard to Orion. The word translated as cords occurs nowhere else in the Old Testament, but it is related to the verb meaning “to pull,” and so the uncertainty is largely eliminated. It is not clear what the cords of Orion may be, other than a parallel for the similar expression in line a. New English Bible thinks cords may refer to the three aligned stars that make up Orion’s belt. The Pleiades and Orion are found in the same general area of the night sky, the Pleiades being relatively small and indistinct, while Orion is vast and easily seen. This line may be rendered as in New English Bible, “or loose Orion’s belt?” If readers are unfamiliar with these northern constellations, a note may be required. Otherwise we may translate more generally; for example, “or loose the cords that hold together the group of stars called Orion.”

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 .