A failure of imagination was at work in this excision. Jettisoning the references to God’s wrath deprives us of the good news that his wrath has been turned away. The lovely verse 10 has naturally been retained (“Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other”), but the prior omissions have robbed us of an opportunity to understand that righteousness and peace cannot kiss until “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against . . . those who by their wickedness suppress the truth”
