Exegesis:

mē dunasthe … poiēsai nēsteusai ‘you cannot … make fast, can you?’ mē indicates that a negative answer to the question is expected. poiēsai ‘make’ should not be pressed; it does not mean “cause to fast” but is closer to “expect” (New English Bible). The aorist tense of poiēsai and nēsteusai suggests reference to occasional fasting as contrasted with habitual fasting to which v. 33 refers.

tous huious tou numphōnos lit. ‘the sons of the bridal chamber.’ huioi ‘sons’ often expresses a close relation of varying kinds. The phrase is explained variously: (1) ‘wedding guests,’ generally (Revised Standard Version), or (2) ‘the (special) friends of the bridegroom’ (New English Bible), ‘the bridegroom’s attendants. The latter is preferable.

numphōn ‘bridal chamber,’ ‘chamber of the bridegroom.’

en hō ho numphios met’ auton estin ‘while the bridegroom is with them.’ en hō scil. chronō. The wording of the clause is determined by what follows; normally it is the friends who go away, not the bridegroom.

numphios (also v. 35) ‘bridegroom.’

Translation:

The rhetorical question may have to be rendered by an affirmative sentence, or elucidated by the adding of an answer, e.g. “of course not” (Good News Translation).

Wedding guests, preferably, following interpretation (2) in Exegesis ‘friends/attendants of the bridegroom,’ also suggesting a wedding party and the festive eating and drinking associated with it. An appropriate rendering in several languages is, ‘those who escort (the bridegroom).’ In Alangan, however, a similar expression, referring to the relatives who act as witnesses of the bridegroom, lacks the required associations, since in this culture the wedding ceremony does nor include any festival meal. In such a case the translator will have to add a footnote explaining Jewish wedding customs. Some versions, e.g. Revised Standard Version, Nieuwe Vertaling, follow the other interpretation, ‘wedding guests,’ or simply, ‘guests,’ the word ‘bridegroom’ being sufficient to indicate the situation.

Bridegroom, often, ‘the one who marries/takes a wife,’ ‘the future husband’ (Alangan). In Batak Toba the term etymologically means ‘the-one-who-buys-a-wife,’ in Pohnpeian. ‘the man caused-to-sit’; in Tae’ the rendering is ‘the-one who-is-escorted,’ a counterpart of the term for ‘attendant of the bridegroom.’

Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.