John speaks of the sky as if it had a door that can be opened to let rain fall or closed to stop the rain. Alternate translation: "to keep rain from falling from the sky" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])
John speaks of the plagues as if they were a stick that someone could hit the earth with. Alternate translation: "to cause all kinds of trouble to occur on earth" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])