6:6a-b

But He was asking this to test him, for He knew what He was about to do: This sentence explains why Jesus asked his question in 6:5c. He did not really want to find out where to buy bread. He knew that he would multiply what food they did have. But he did want Philip to answer the question. He wanted to see if Philip believed that he could feed them (and maybe if he sympathized with the people). He was like a teacher who asks a question to see what his students know.

The idea of Jesus not asking the question to get information is only implied. So in some languages it may be necessary to include implied information or somehow explain the logic here. For example:

⌊He did not ask Philip that question so he would know what to do⌋ , because he already knew what he would do. Instead, he said this to test him.
-or-
Jesus knew what he would do, but he asked that so that he could test Philip and see what he would answer.

This sentence gives an explanation, so it can be considered parenthetical information. You may want to use parentheses to indicate that it is an explanation. For example:

(He said this to test Philip; actually he already knew what he would do.) (Good News Translation)

6:6a

But He was asking this to test him: Jesus asked Philip the question in 6:5c to test Philip and not to get information. Because people normally ask a question to get information, in some languages you may need to indicate that this question is different. For example:

Jesus just said this to test Philip
-or-
He said this only to put Philip to the test. (New Jerusalem Bible)

6:6b

for: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as for means “because.” Here it introduces the reason why Jesus did not need to get information from Philip. For example:

because (New Century Version)

He knew what He was about to do: John here indicated that Jesus already knew that he would do a miracle to supply bread for the crowd. He knew it before he asked Philip the question in 6:5c.

Here are other ways to translate this clause:

he really knew what he would do
-or-
Jesus already knew what he planned to do. (New Century Version)

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