Kept them in his house translates a verb indicating that the brothers were guests in Jason’s home. This phrase kept them in his house is equivalent to “has welcomed them to his house,” “has had them in his house as guests,” or even “has given them food and a bed in his house.”

The (Roman) Emperor referred to in this verse is Claudius, who ruled from A.D. 41 to 54. The accusation against the Christians is not merely that they were saying that there is another king, by the name of Jesus, but that someone else other than Claudius was king, and his name was Jesus. The Jerusalem Bible renders this entire statement: “they have broken every one of Caesar’s edicts by claiming that there is another emperor, Jesus.” The laws of the Emperor are simply “the rules which the Emperor has given us” or even “what the Emperor has told us we must do.” In many societies there are no terms such as king and emperor, nor are there any parallel cultural features. In the ancient Roman world kings were traditional rulers (normally with hereditary descent) in various regions, while the emperor was the highest authority over the entire Roman Empire. In some situations one can only speak of a king as “a ruler” and the emperor as “the biggest ruler.” In societies which only know chieftainship, one can employ for a king “a big chief” and the emperor “the biggest chief,” “the chief who is controlling all the other chiefs,” or “the chief who is giving orders to all the other chiefs.”

The final phrase by the name of Jesus may be expressed as “and his name is Jesus” or “and this other king has the name Jesus.”

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 .