# his mouth was opened ... his tongue was freed

These two phrases are word pictures that together emphasize that Zechariah was suddenly able to speak. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-idiom]] and [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-parallelism]])

# his mouth was opened and his tongue was freed

These phrases can be stated in active form. Alternate translation: "God opened his mouth and freed his tongue" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-activepassive]])