6:25a
At once the girl hurried back to the king: This clause indicates that the daughter left her mother immediately, and she quickly returned to the place where the feast was taking place. In some languages it may be more natural to combine into one expression the related ideas that the girl returned At once and that she hurried. For example:
So the girl hurried back to the king (New Living Translation)
-or-
At once the girl went back to the king (New Century Version)
In other languages both expressions will be necessary to communicate the girl’s eagerness and haste. Think of a natural way to express this idea in your language.
with her request: In some languages, it may be more natural to use the verb “requested/asked” instead of the noun request.
In English and some other languages, the verb “request/ask” is implicit in the words “I want you to…” (in 6:25b). Therefore, you could translate this part of 6:25a as “she said…”
6:25b
I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist on a platter immediately: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as immediately also means “right now” or “at once.” This word has a similar meaning to the word translated as “At once” in 6:25a, but it is a different Greek word.
John the Baptist: See the note on 6:14c–d.
on a platter: The word platter refers to a large, flat plate usually used to carry food. But here the platter is only a means for carrying the head. It does not imply that the head was served as food.
If people in your area will think that the term platter indicates serving the head as food, you may want to use a more general term. An example is:
carrying tray
If the purpose of bringing the head on a platter is not clear in your area, you may want to include a footnote. An example is:
Herodias wanted the head on a platter so she could see that John had been killed. The head would then be thrown away.
Use whatever parts of the above footnote you think would be helpful for the readers of your translation.
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