Exegesis:

meta spoudēs (only here in Mark) ‘with haste,’ ‘in a hurry’; perhaps ‘eagerly’ (Lagrange).

ētēsato legousa ‘she requested, saying’: it is not necessary, however, in English, to translate both verbs (as does Revised Standard Version); simply ‘she requested.’

thelō hina ‘I want that’: as in 5.23 the force of the phrase here is probably imperatival; thelō hina … dōs moi ‘Give me’ (it may be that thelō hina is equivalent, as in later Greek, to ‘please’).

exautēs (only here in Mark) ‘at once,’ ‘immediately’ (the whole phrase is ex autēs tēs hōras ‘this very hour’).

pinaki (6.28) ‘platter,’ ‘dish.’

Iōannou tou baptistou (8.28) ‘of John the Baptist’ (cf. ho baptizōn ‘the Baptizer’ in 1.4).

Translation:

Immediately with haste reflects a double expression in the Greek text. The idea is that the girl not only returned very soon, but she was obviously hurrying to deliver her request.

The closest equivalent of platter is often ‘serving tray,’ whether consisting of earthenware, wood or basketry. It must be a sufficiently large object, so as to hold a human head, but not one in which the head would be hidden from view, as in the case of a basket. Evidently, Herodias was eager that her triumph might be clearly witnessed by all who were present.

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 .