Hegseth accused of quoting fake Bible verse during Pentagon prayer

Oops?

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth got tongues wagging after he quoted a “Bible verse” during a prayer service at the Pentagon on Wednesday.

But there’s one problem — the quote Hegseth used wasn’t from the Bible, but from Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 hit movie Pulp Fiction.

“This prayer was recited by Sandy 1, which is one of the Sandies, to all Sandies, all those A-10 crews, prior to all CSAR missions, but especially this CSAR mission, which happened in real time,” Hegseth told the audience that was there to discuss the triumphant Sandy 1 rescue mission of a downed US pilot in Iran last month.

“They call it CSAR 25:17, which I think is meant to reflect Ezekiel 25:17,” he continued.

“So the prayer is CSAR 25:17, and it reads, and pray with me, please, ‘The path of the downed aviator 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 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 1 when I lay my vengeance upon thee. Amen.’”

The quote was used by actor Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction just before his character shoots someone to death.

“The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men,” Jackson said. “Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and goodwill, shepherds the weak 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 poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord, when I lay my vengeance upon thee.”

However, at least one interpretation of the Bible’s 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.”

It’s close, but the strong resemblance to Pulp Fiction’s fake version had X buzzing:

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

— Clash Report (@clashreport) April 16, 2026

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