Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth put the “script” in “scripture” when he quoted a fake Bible verse from Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 crime-thriller “Pulp Fiction” during remarks at a Pentagon worship service on Wednesday.
Hegseth gave what appeared to be words from the Good Book during his appearance, but instead recited the modified version of Ezekiel 25:17 that Samuel L. Jackson’s character Jules Winnfield iconically delivers to a man just before fatally shooting him in the Oscar-winning feature.
However, Hegseth stated the prayer was popularly given for search and rescue crews and was based on a passage from the Bible’s book of Ezekiel from the Old Testament. After asking everyone to pray along with him, he delivered the message.
Watch the clip, which compares Hegseth’s prayer to the “Pulp Fiction” performance in real time, below:
“The path of the downed aviator is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men,” Hegseth said. “Blessed is he who in the name of camaraderie and duty shepherds 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. Amen.”
Taratino’s version was actually adapted from the 1973 Japanese martial artist movie “Bodyguard Kiba.” The actual Ezekiel 25:17 reads: “And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.”
Hegseth already made headlines this week for likening the press to the Pharisees who opposed Jesus Christ in his latest attack on journalists scrutinizing the Iran war.
“The legacy Trump-hating press, your politically motivated animus for President Trump nearly completely blinds you from the brilliance of our American warriors,” Hegseth said during a press briefing on Thursday. “The Pharisees scrutinized every good act in order to find a violation, only looking for the negative. The hardened hearts of our press are calibrated only to impugn.”
Now, the Fox host-turned-political leader is being condemned and roasted online for the “Pulp Fiction” stunt.
“These are the people telling the Pope to stay out of politics btw,” one X user wrote, referring to the Trump administration’s verbal tussling with Pope Leo XIV.
