Tricked is a word which appears only here in the New Testament; it means “to take advantage by trickery.” In most languages this is equivalent to “deceive.”

The equivalent of cruel is in many languages more specific, for example, “beat,” “tortured,” or “caused to suffer.”

To put … out of their homes is rendered by most translations as “to expose.” In either case the meaning is clear: the Egyptians made the Hebrews put their newborn children outside and leave them there to die. So that they would die is a positive way of expressing the Greek negative statement, “so they would not go on living.”

In a number of languages an expression such as put their babies out of their homes would not necessarily imply immediately the concept of the exposure. Of course, the final clause makes this perfectly clear. A more normal expression in some languages, however, is “to abandon their children” or “to leave their children outside.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Acts of the Apostles. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .