Original Word: קַו־קַי
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: qav-qav
Pronunciation: kav-kav
Phonetic Spelling: (kav-kav')
KJV: X meted out
NASB: powerful
Word Origin: [from H6957 (קַו קָו - Line) (in the sense of a fastening)]

1. stalwart

From qav (in the sense of a fastening); stalwart -- X meted out.

see HEBREW qav

קַו־קַי is the emphatic, doubled form of the Hebrew term for a measuring line or cord. As an adjective for a nation it pictures a people decisively “marked off” or “meted out”—one whose territorial limits, military reach, and political influence have been precisely determined by God. In Isaiah the phrase carries a dual nuance: (1) the Cushites measure out others through expansion and oppression, and (2) they themselves stand under the divine measuring line.

Occurrences in Isaiah

1. Isaiah 18:2 – The prophet dispatches “swift messengers” to “a tall and smooth-skinned people… a powerful and oppressive nation, whose land the rivers divide”. The description culminates with גּוֹי קַו־קַי, highlighting Cush as a nation that both defines and is defined by boundaries.
2. Isaiah 18:7 – After the LORD’s intervention, tribute is carried “to the place of the Name of the LORD of Hosts, Mount Zion” from that same גּוֹי קַו־קַי. The once-oppressive power is now pictured in humble procession to Jerusalem.

Historical Background: Cush under the Measuring Line

Cush (Upper Egypt–Ethiopia) asserted dominance over the Nile corridor during the Twenty-fifth Dynasty (ca. 750–664 BC). Isaiah ministered while Cushite rulers (notably Piankhi and Taharqa) alternately threatened and courted Judah. Their fleets on the Nile and Red Sea enabled them to send “envoys by sea in papyrus vessels” (Isaiah 18:2). Militarily formidable, the Cushites measured out vassal territories; yet Isaiah portrays them as already “weighed and divided” by the sovereign LORD.

Theological Themes

• Divine sovereignty over national borders: “He has fixed…the boundaries of their dwelling place” (Acts 17:26). קַו־קַי reinforces that truth by tying human expansion to God’s measuring line.
• Judgment that leads to worship: Isaiah 18 moves from dread of Cush (verse 2) to their offering of gifts at Zion (verse 7), foreshadowing the gathering of nations in Isaiah 2:2-4 and Revelation 21:24.
• The reversal of power: those once called “oppressive” become servants who honor the LORD, displaying the redemptive reach of God’s purposes among Gentiles.

Practical Ministry Applications

1. Missional encouragement—Even the most remote and self-assured peoples can be drawn to worship; prayer and witness should therefore extend “to the ends of the earth.”
2. Comfort amid geopolitical turmoil—Believers facing aggressive regimes may take heart that every nation is already under God’s line of measurement.
3. Humility for any culture—National strength is temporary; readiness to bring tribute to Zion models the posture every people must ultimately adopt before Christ.

Messianic and Eschatological Hints

Tribute from קַו־קַי anticipates the ingathering described in Psalm 72:10-11, “May the kings of Tarshish and of distant shores bring tribute,” and in Zechariah 14:16. The movement of Cushites toward Zion points to the Messiah’s reign in which “the wealth of nations will come” (Isaiah 60:5). Thus קַו־קַי not only marks historical Cush but serves as a prophetic sign that the measured nations will one day gladly acknowledge the perfect rule of Jesus Christ.

Related Passages and Parallels

• Isaiah 19:19-25 – Egypt and Assyria join Israel in blessing, confirming a tri-national fulfillment of the “measured-out” theme.
• Isaiah 28:10, 13 – The repetition “line upon line (קָו לָקָו)” corresponds verbally with קַו־קַי, linking God’s pedagogical precision with His geopolitical precision.
• Amos 7:7-8 – The plumb line vision parallels the measuring imagery, underscoring divine assessment and adjustment of nations.