Exegesis:
exelthōn ‘having come out’; the aorist tense has pluperfect force here.
lalēsai autois ‘to speak to them,’ refers probably to the blessing people expected from the priest.
epegnōsan ‘they realized,’ cf. on v. 4.
hoti optasian heōraken ‘that he had seen a vision.’ This is a conclusion from the fact that Zechariah could not speak, not an observation on the part of the crowd.
optasia (also 24.23) ‘vision,’ always of supernatural appearances.
kai autos ‘and he on his part.’ Different from v. 17 kai autos is used here emphatically and contrasts Zechariah with the crowd.
ēn dianeuōn ‘he continually was making signs,’ periphrastic construction.
dianeuō ‘to beckon with the hand or with the head.’
diemenen kōphos ‘he remained dumb,’ imperfect tense suggesting duration. diamenō, cf. on 22.28.
Translation:
When he came out contrasts with his delay in the temple; hence, “when he did come out” (New English Bible), or, ‘when he had arrived outside.’
He could not speak to them, echoing the wording of v. 20. In Navajo one must say, ‘he tried to speak to them but could not.’
Here and introduces a conclusion; hence, ‘thereby’ (Leyden), ‘so’ (Javanese), ‘(only) then’ (Chinese).
They perceived has been rendered in this context, ‘it became clear to them,’ ‘it-reached their heart,’ i.e. they came to the conclusion (Tae’); Navajo uses the verb ‘to think,’ modified by a particle expressing surprise.
Seen a vision. Several languages can use a rather generic expression, leaving the specific meaning to become clear from the context, e.g. ‘to see something’ (Sranan Tongo, Tae’), ‘something is made visible’ (Apache), and cf. ‘they knew, what he might have seen,’ i.e. they knew that something had been seen but not what (Shipibo-Conibo). Elsewhere a specification must be added, cf. ‘to see a divine sight’ (Kannada, Toraja-Sa’dan), ‘he had seen something supernatural, which had appeared to him’ (Tboli). A term for ‘vision’ having the connotation of ‘an illusion,’ suggesting unreality, should be avoided.
He made signs, or, ‘he addressed (lit. talked-to) them in signs only’ (Kituba), ‘he made illustrations/examples’ (Tboli), ‘he beckoned’ (Balinese), ‘he gesticulated’ (Navajo). The noun refers to a motion or gesture by which a wish or command is made known or a thought expressed. The closest natural equivalent may be a term that refers to a specific gesture, cf. ‘to nod’ (Santali, Thai), ‘to wave the hand’ (Sranan Tongo). The meaning of the movement used should be carefully checked; where, for instance, ‘to wave the hand up and down’ means a command to draw near (as in Indonesia) it does not fit the context here.
And he remained dumb, or, ‘he was dumb, he uttered no word’ (Toraja-Sa’dan, emphasizing duration by the use of two synonymous expressions). In some languages (e.g. Balinese), the term ‘dumb’ includes deafness, as it does in the Greek, cf. on v. 62. In others the rendering simply is ‘not able to speak’ (Kituba, Navajo).
Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.