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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/translate/figs-idiom and rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-parallelism)
his mouth was opened and his tongue was freed
These phrases can be stated in active form. AT: "God opened his mouth and freed his tongue" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive)
Fear came on all who lived around them
"All who lived around Zechariah and Elizabeth were afraid." It may be helpful to state clearly why they were afraid. AT: "All who lived around them were in awe of God because he had done this to Zechariah" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit)
all who lived around them
The word "all" here is a generalization. AT: "those who lived around them" or "many who lived in that area" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-hyperbole)
All these matters were spread throughout all the hill country of Judea
The phrase "these matters were spread" is a metaphor for people hearing about them. AT: "People throughout the hill country of Judea heard about all these matters" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor)
All who heard them
"All who heard about these matters"
stored them in their hearts
Thinking a lot about things that have happened is spoken of as putting those things safely in their hearts. AT: "thought carefully about these matters" or "though a lot about these events" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor)
saying
"asking"
What then will this child become?
"What kind of great person will this baby grow up to be?" It is also possible that this question was meant to be a statement of their surprise at what they had heard about the baby. AT: "What a great man this child will be!" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion)
the hand of the Lord was with him
The phrase "the hand of the Lord" refers to the Lord's power. AT: "the Lord's power was with him" or "the Lord was working in him powerfully" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy)