Once again the scene is the contrast between past and present. After describing starving children the poet proceeds now to describe the fate of starving adults. It is not only the common people who suffer but also those accustomed to luxury. The two halves of this verse are closely parallel in meaning.

Those who feasted on dainties refers to the wealthy, who had the choicest food to eat. Dainties translates a word used in Genesis 49.20, where it is used in parallel with “rich food” and is translated by Good News Translation “food fit for a king.” In some language areas there is little distinction made between different qualities of food. Rather the distinction may be made between those who have ample food and those who have little. In the present context it may be clearer in some cases to speak of the abundance of food; for example, “Those who had all they could eat” or “The people who had more food than they could eat.”

Perish in the streets is literally “are desolate in the streets,” meaning they are wasted away, and so Good News Translation “die starving.” For translation comments on streets see 2.11.

Brought up in purple: purple was the color of the robes worn by kings. See Judges 8.26; Song of Songs 7.5. The sense of this is that brought up in purple (clothing) means those who were raised in the king’s palace, or, more generally, the rich, those raised in luxury. And so this line in Revised Standard Version is parallel in meaning to the opening line of verse 5. Brought up in purple must be adjusted in many languages to say, for example, “people who had all they wanted as they grew up,” “people who had wealth and possessions,” “people who grew up wearing fine clothing.”

Lie on ash heaps is literally “embrace rubbish heaps.” The idea is that they take hold of the rubbish with both hands, trying to find something to eat. Good News Translation is picturable: “pawing through garbage for food.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on Lamentations. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1992. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .