Exegesis:

ti aitēsōmai ‘what should I ask for?’: not simply futuristic, but with the element of deliberation.

kephalēn (6.25, 27, 28; 12.10; 14.3; 15.19, 29) ‘head.’

Iōannou tou baptizontos (cf. 1.4; 6.14) ‘of John the Baptizer’: as in both other cases a title.

Translation:

Went out means ‘went out of the room.’

Said to her mother must in many instances be changed to ‘asked her mother.’

What shall I ask may be more precisely translated as ‘what do you want me to ask’ (Southern Subanen).

She said is translated in some languages ‘she replied.’

Though the phrase the head of John the baptizer is the grammatical object of the preceding verb ‘said’ or ‘replied,’ it is actually the object of an elliptical verb ‘ask for.’ This ellipsis must be filled in some languages, e.g. ‘and she replied, Ask for the head of John the baptizer.’

For John the baptizer see 1.4.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of Mark. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1961. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .