9:34a

But: The conjunction But indicates a contrast. The contrast is that Jesus expected the disciples to answer his question, but the disciples did not answer.

In some languages, no conjunction is necessary here. For example, the God’s Word says:

They were silent.

they were silent: The phrase they were silent indicates that the disciples did not answer Jesus.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

they would not answer him (Good News Bible)
-or-
They said nothing (New Jerusalem Bible)

9:34b

for: The conjunction for introduces the reason that the disciples were quiet. In some languages, it will be more natural to put 9:34b before 9:34a. See the General Comment on 9:34a–c below for an example.

on the way: The Berean Standard Bible uses the phrase on the way to translate the same Greek phrase that is translated as “on the way” in 9:33c. You may want to use the same phrase in both places. If it is more natural in your language, you can omit this second mention of it.

they had been arguing about: It is implied that the disciples were ashamed of the topic that they had been arguing about. So they did not want to answer Jesus. You may need to make this information explicit. For example:

they did not want Jesus to know that they had argued about…
-or-
they were ashamed to tell him that they had argued concerning…

9:34c

which of them: The context implies that the word which of them refers to which one among the disciples. The New International Version, 2011 edition translates this as:

who

the greatest: The word greatest refers to having the highest status. The disciples wanted to know who among them was the most important person.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

the most important
-or-
greatest in rank
-or-
highest in status/name
-or-
more important than all the others

General Comment on 9:34a–c

In this verse, 9:34b–c expresses the reason for the result in 9:34a. In some languages, it may be more natural to change the order of these clauses. For example:

34bBut they were ashamed to tell him that on the road, they had argued 34cabout who was the greatest. 34aSo they kept quiet.
-or-
34bOn the road, they had argued 34cabout who was the greatest. 34aSo they kept quiet out of shame.

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