Exegesis:
meta … tautas tas hēmeras ‘after these days’ does not refer to the ‘days’ of v. 23, but to all that is told in vv. 8-23. Hence “sometime afterwards” (Bible de Jérusalem, La Sainte Bible: Nouvelle version Segond révisée).
sunelaben ‘became pregnant.’
sullambanō ‘to seize’ or, ‘to conceive,’ ‘to become pregnant,’ in the latter meaning only in Luke.
periekruben heautēn ‘she kept herself hidden.’ The imperfect tense suggests duration.
perikrubō ‘to conceal (entirely).’
mēnas pente ‘during five months,’ accusative of extent, answering the question ‘how long.’
legousa ‘saying,’ connecting what she said with the fact that she kept herself hidden. But this connexion is far from obvious. Some see in what follows the reason for Elizabeth hiding herself (cf. Williams, Nieuwe Vertaling) but most translators leave the connexion undefined.
Translation:
After these days, or, ‘some time later.’ When rendering day(s) one must consider at least the following six basic components, (1) a period of light between the rising and setting of the sun, as e.g. in 21.37; (2) the daylight, as e.g. in 9.12; (3) a period of 24 hours, including the night, as e.g. in 13.14; (4) a unit for the reckoning of time, as e.g. in 2.21; (5) a certain point in time, as in 1.20, 80; and (6) a period of some duration, as in 17.24, often in the plural, as here, 1.39; 2.1, etc. Languages usually have distinctive terms for some or all of these meanings.
Conceived. In several cases conception, or pregnancy are referred to by what are originally descriptive and/or veiled expressions, such as ‘got belly’ (Sranan Tongo, similarly Kituba), ‘having two bodies’ (Bahasa Indonesia), ‘be-of-womb’ (Sinhala), ‘heavy’ (Balinese), ‘in-a-fortunate-state’ (Batak Toba). The translator must be on his guard against possible vulgar connotations in the receptor culture, but also sensitive to the style of the narrative: euphemisms equivalent to ‘in the family way’ (as used in one version) are out of place here and therefore sound slightly ridiculous.
Month. A term for a period approximately corresponding with the lunar cycle from new moon to new moon (hence one word sometimes covers ‘moon’ and ‘month’), or with one twelfth of the solar year, seems nearly always to be available. As a rule that same term can be used also in connexion with the menstrual period, but exceptionally it may be necessary to introduce a specific expression or adjustment.
She hid herself. A too literal rendering may suggest furtive doings; then renderings such as ‘she stayed in her house’ (Tboli), “she did not leave the house” (Good News Translation), “she withdrew herself from view” (The Four Gospels – a New Translation), will be useful models.
Sayings, or, ‘and said’; or, at the head of the next sentence, ‘She said’ (Kituba), or, ‘Meanwhile she said.’
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.