Translation
great hail, comes down
Go to footnote numberout of heaven upon men, weighing over 100 pounds each,
Go to footnote numberand men cursed GOD
on account of the plague of hail,
Go to footnote numberfor the hail was
exceedingly severe.
Paraphrase
God’s great displeasure came from God upon men, unlike anything mankind had seen before, and men cursed THE CREATOR AND OWNER OF ALL THINGS
on account of His show of displeasure, for it was exceedingly severe.
Footnotes
1: “comes down”
The Greek mixes present and past verbs in this sentence; “great hail comes… men cursed.” This is typical of Revelation because it is a vision, and because the application of it reaches across all time. If time is irrelevant, then so are verb tenses, or maybe I should say the verbs don’t play their normal roles.
2
A talent was a unit of weight ranging from 55 Lbs. to 130 Lbs. depending on whether one is referring to a Greek talent, an Egyptian talent, a Roman talent, a Babylonian talent, a Jewish talent, or a “heavy common talent.” The last two were the heaviest, and the one called the “heavy common talent” seems to be one used in the New Testament. For that reason, I have placed in my translation a generalization, but one which favors the heavier, rather than the lighter, measurement.
3: “and men cursed God on account of the plague of hail”
Here we see sinful men who are unwilling to repent, pointing a finger back at God as if it is His fault they are being punished. Even in the face of punishment that comes obviously from God (heaven) they do not confess their sins but complain that they don’t deserve what they are getting.