Leviticus 18:28 (KJV)

What does Leviticus 18:28 mean?

Leviticus 18:28 warns the Israelites that they too could be driven from the land if they defile it. The verse measures their conduct against that of the nations who lived there before them: belonging to Israel would not exempt them from the same consequence.

God speaks through Moses to the Israelites. The image of the land “spuing,” or vomiting, people out pictures the land rejecting those who make it unclean. In the surrounding passage, the conduct in view includes the forbidden sexual acts listed earlier in the chapter.

The Hebrew behind Leviticus 18:28

• “out” — קִיא (qiʾ): This word carries the sense of vomiting. The KJV pairs “spue” with “out,” making the land seem like a body expelling something it cannot hold.
• “defile” — טָמֵא (ṭameʾ): This word can mean to make unclean. Here the uncleanness is tied to the actions listed in the passage, rather than to dirt on the ground.

Why Leviticus 18:28 matters

• The warning applies to both the Israelites and the earlier nations. The words “you also” and “as it spued out the nations” make that comparison explicit.
• The passage connects conduct with the land itself. Leviticus 18:25 says the land was defiled, and verse 28 uses the same picture to warn the incoming Israelites.
• The instructions address more than Israelite families alone. Leviticus 18:26 includes both people born among the Israelites and foreigners living among them in its command to keep these rules.