Hegseth Quotes Made-Up Bible Verse From Pulp Fiction

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth quoted the fake Bible verse from Samuel L. Jackson’s monologue as Jules Winfield in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, apparently believing it was completely real.  

The moment came at one of Hegseth’s Pentagon sermons on Wednesday morning. 

“They call it CSAR 25:17, which I think is meant to reflect Ezekiel 25:17,” Hegseth erroneously said, saying the lead planner of the Combat Search And Rescue operation in Iran shared it with him.

So the prayer is CSAR 25:17 and it reads … “the path of the downed aviator is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of camaraderie and duty, shepherd the lost through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper, and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to capture and destroy my brother. And you will know my call sign is Sandy One when I lay my vengeance upon thee.”

Almost every single line from Hegseth’s prayer is ripped from Jackson’s iconic recitation of Ezekiel 25:17 in Tarantino’s film, not the prophet Ezekiel as ordained by God.

Here’s what the original verse in the Bible actually reads:

I will execute great vengeance on them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I lay My vengeance upon them.

That’s it. The flowery language, the allusions to vengeance and destruction of evil—all come from Tarantino. 

But if that wasn’t bad enough, Hegseth added his own spin on a Bible verse that was already fake. Compare Hegseth’s monologue to the version in Pulp Fiction: 

The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness. For he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know I am the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you. 

Pete Hegseth quoted a fake Bible verse from Pulp Fiction during a Pentagon sermon.pic.twitter.com/1o3CJiJYRF

— Clash Report (@clashreport) April 16, 2026

It’s hard to parse how incredibly stupid this is. Why is the former Fox News alcoholic turned defense secretary even holding sermons at the Pentagon in the first place? And no one thought to let him know that the verse he so poetically interpreted was a blasphemous one? Did he even care? And to make matters even worse, this blatant display of religious ignorance comes on the heels of the Trump administration’s attacks on Pope Leo XIV for his opposition to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and Lebanon.