Then the goat grew exceedingly arrogant. At the very peak of his power, his big horn abruptly snapped off. In its place, four prominent horns came up, each pointing to a different direction.
After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, and they were restraining the four winds so that no wind would blow on the land, on the sea, or on any tree.
“As for the horn that was broken off and replaced by four prominent horns, this signifies that four other kingdoms will rise from its midst, but their combined power will not be as great as the first.
As I considered what it all meant, I saw a male goat come rushing from the west, racing across the whole earth without touching the ground. He had a single prominent horn on his forehead.
But when his heart was inflated with pride and his spirit hardened into stubbornness, God deposed him from his royal throne and stripped him of his glory.
At that time he will send his messengers to gather together his beloved chosen ones from every direction—from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven!”
And he will send his messengers with the loud blast of the trumpet, and with a great voice they will gather his beloved chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other!”
But at the zenith of his power, his empire will be shattered and scattered to the four winds of heaven, though not to his descendants. It will not be as powerful as when he ruled it, for his dominion will be uprooted and will be passed on to others who are not his descendants.”
After that, as I looked on, behold, there was another one that looked like a tiger. On its back were four large wings of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority for dominion.
The words were no sooner out of his mouth than a voice spoke from out of heaven: “Here is my verdict concerning you, King Nebuchadnezzar: I have now taken your kingdom from you!
Will you still say in the presence of your killers, “Don’t you know I’m a god?” But you will be merely a mortal man, and not a god, when you are in the clutches of the ones who strike you down!
And I made you grow and flourish like the grass of the fields. You grew up and developed until you produced the most beautiful of features. You developed the breasts and hair of a young woman, but you were still quite naked and exposed.
I will bring storms of judgment from everywhere to break out against them. I will scatter them to the four winds. And there will not be a single nation that will not take you captive.
Then I saw him reach the ram and attack it with furious blows. He smashed it so hard that it broke off its two horns, for the ram had no power to withstand it. The goat knocked the ram to the ground and trampled it down. And there was no one to rescue the ram from his power.