14:8a
Prompted by her mother: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Prompted means that her mother, Herodias, urged/encouraged her daughter what to say to Herod.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
the girl’s mother told her to say (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Herodias told her daughter what to ask for (New Century Version)
The parallel passage in Mark 6:24 tells us that the daughter left the room of men and went to ask her mother what to do. In some languages, it may be natural to make some of this information explicit. For example:
⌊She asked her mother, and⌋ her mother told her to say
14:8b
Give me here…the head of John the Baptist: This clause implies that the daughter asked Herod to kill John by cutting off his head. Cutting off the head was a common method of killing someone in Roman culture.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
I want the head of John the Baptist (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Bring to me here the head of John the baptizer
on a platter: The word platter refers to a large flat plate usually used for carrying food. But here the platter was only a way to carry the head. It does not imply serving the head as food.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
on a tray (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
on a plate
If the purpose of bringing the head on a platter is not clear in your area, you may want to explain in a footnote. Here is a sample footnote:
Cutting off the head was a common way to kill someone in Roman culture. Herodias wanted the head on a platter so she could see that John had been killed. The head would then be thrown away.
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