I will freely love them,
This phrase emphasizes the unconditional nature of God's love. Despite Israel's repeated unfaithfulness, God's love remains steadfast and is not based on their actions. This reflects the concept of grace, where God's favor is given freely, not earned. The Hebrew word for love here is "ahav," which conveys deep affection and commitment. This mirrors the New Testament teaching of God's love in passages like John 3:16, where God's love for the world is demonstrated through the giving of His Son. It also connects to the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15, illustrating God's readiness to embrace and restore those who return to Him.

for My anger has turned away from them.
This phrase signifies a shift from divine judgment to mercy. God's anger, often depicted in the Old Testament as a response to sin and idolatry, is now replaced by compassion. This turning away of anger is a result of repentance and God's sovereign choice to forgive. It echoes the prophetic message of Isaiah 12:1, where God's anger is turned away, and comfort is given. Theologically, this points to the atoning work of Christ, who absorbs God's wrath on behalf of humanity, as seen in Romans 5:9, where believers are justified by His blood and saved from wrath. This transformation from anger to love underscores the redemptive nature of God's relationship with His people.

God speaks as the Great Physician, promising to cure the deepest sickness of His people—spiritual unfaithfulness.

• His healing is total, not cosmetic. Like Jeremiah 3:22, “Return, O faithless sons; I will heal your faithlessness”, He pledges to restore hearts as well as outward conduct.

• The initiative is His alone; Israel can no more heal itself than a sick patient can perform surgery. Isaiah 53:5 shows the same pattern: “by His wounds we are healed”.

• This promise reaches forward to Christ, who “gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age” (Galatians 1:4). The same God who spoke through Hosea still binds up repentant souls today.

The Lord now reveals the motive behind His healing: unmerited, overflowing love.

• “Freely” means without reluctance, cost to the recipient, or prior merit—echoing Deuteronomy 7:7-8, where He loved Israel “because the LORD loved you”.

• This love is covenantal, not sentimental. Romans 5:8 declares, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us”, matching Hosea’s picture of love extended before improvement.

• 1 John 4:10 captures the same heartbeat: “This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice”. God’s free love drives every step of redemption.

Divine wrath, once rightly fixed on sin, is now satisfied and removed.

• The phrase recalls Isaiah 12:1: “Though You were angry with me, Your anger has turned away, and You have comforted me”.

• This turning is not denial of justice but fulfillment of it. At the cross, “God presented Him as an atoning sacrifice through faith in His blood” (Romans 3:25), so wrath is exhausted, not merely postponed.

• Psalm 30:5 assures, “His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime”. Once wrath is turned away, favor flows unimpeded.

Hosea 14:4 unfolds a three-fold promise: God cures the sickness of unfaithfulness, loves His people freely, and removes the just wrath they deserved. All three stream together in the gospel—Christ heals our apostasy, embodies God’s free love, and satisfies divine anger. The verse invites every repentant heart to rest in that complete, gracious restoration.

(1) their turning away from God and all included therein - defection, rebellion, idolatry, and other sins. The disease would be healed, and its consequences averted.

(2) Some, however, understand the word, in a good sense, to mean "conversion ' or "the converted," the abstract being put for the concrete; the blessing is thus promised them when they turned or returned to God. Thus the Syriac version.

(3) The LXX. again, connecting meshubhah with yashav, to sit or dwell, render it by κατοικίαν, that is," I will heal their dwelling." There is little doubt that . . .

Parallel Commentaries ...