We are almost through the "woe" section of Isaiah.  Remember that Isaiah does a great job of describing the character of God.  We see God as One who posesses great love, great grace, great anger.  In verses 2-4, we see a hint of God's great compassion:  Verse 2 tells us about a vision Isaiah has:  "The treacherous one still deals treacherously, and the destroyer still destroys..."  And Isaiah's response is inspiring.

Verse 3, "For this reason my loins are full of anguish; pains have seized me like the pains of a woman in labor, I am so bewildered I cannot hear, so terrified I cannot see."

This is a picture of a man in prayer.  Isaiah is physically hurt because of the evil that surrounds him.  He cannot stand, he is so moved.  His compassion for those that hurt are a mirror image of the King he follows.  Isaiah says he cannot hear nor see; I think he means he cannot hear nor see anything EXCEPT the cries of the prisoners and captives.  We call that tunnel vision.

Where is Isaiah's focus?
Verse 5 tells the captains to "rise up", and oil the shields -what kind of weapon is a shield?
What does the pain Isaiah experiences tell us about God?