He who encamps near her house will also fasten his tent peg to her walls: The picture here is that of a traveler pitching his tent. He does not fasten the tent peg onto the wall itself, as Revised Standard Version suggests, but into the ground right at the wall—as close as he can get. Good News Translation does well, and in our restructuring would read “They camp as close to her house as they can get” or “They set up their tents as close to the house as they can get.” A Handbook on Genesis gives the following helpful comments on “tents”:

Tents are usually associated with people who move about with their herds. The term refers to dwellings made of animal skins or of cloth and held up by poles, and fastened to the ground by cords and pegs. As a descriptive phrase we may say, for example, “a house made of animal hides,” “a house made of cloth,” or “a moveable house.” If such a dwelling is totally unknown, an illustration will help the reader. If a descriptive phrase is unsuitable, it may be necessary to use the local term referring to a brush house or other temporary shelter.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Sirach. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.