“The male goat became exceedingly great, but as soon as he became mighty, the large horn was broken, and in its place four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven.
But when he became strong, his heart grew so haughty that he acted corruptly. For he trespassed against Adonai his God by entering into the Temple of Adonai to burn incense upon the altar of incense.
I will bring upon Elam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them to all those winds. There will be no nation where the dispersed of Elam will not go.
I made you grow as myriads, like a branch of the field. You grew up, got tall and came to full adornment. Your breasts were formed, your hair sprouted. Yet you were naked and bare.
But as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom will be broken up and distributed to the four winds of heaven—though it will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the authority he exercised, for his kingdom will be uprooted and given to others besides these.
But at the end of the appointed days, I Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes up to heaven and my sanity returned to me. So I blessed the Most High and I praised and honored Him who lives forever. “For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation!
“After that I looked, and behold, there was another one like a leopard. On its back it had four wings like those of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.
“While I was contemplating this, behold, a male goat came from the west crossing the face of the whole earth without touching the ground! Now the goat had a conspicuous horn between his eyes.
I saw him attacking the ram furiously, striking the ram and shattering his two horns. Now the ram was not strong enough to stand against him, so he knocked the ram to the ground and trampled him. No one could rescue the ram from his power.
“For when I bring them to the land flowing with milk and honey that I swore to their fathers, and they eat and are satisfied and grow fat—then they will turn to other gods and serve them, and they will spurn Me and break My covenant.
After this, I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or against any tree.