Pete Hegseth, the U.S. “Secretary of War,” is making headlines after he delivered a prayer at the Pentagon on Thursday, April 16, that sounded a lot like a scene from Pulp Fiction. The famous 1994 film, directed by Quentin Tarantino, features a moment starring Samuel L. Jackson reciting a faux Bible verse, and Hegseth, 45, seemingly paraphrased it.
“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 said, referring to the Sandy 1 rescue of a downed pilot in Iran.
The former Fox News employee continued, “They call it CSAR 25:17, which I think is meant to reflect Ezekiel 25:17,” acknowledging the scene when Jackson’s Pulp Fiction character, Jules Winnfield, recites the supposed Bible verse right before opening fire on a group of men.
Pete Hegseth quoted a fake Bible verse from Pulp Fiction during a Pentagon sermon.pic.twitter.com/1o3CJiJYRF
— Clash Report (@clashreport) April 16, 2026
“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,” Hegseth said. “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.”
Although Hegseth’s recitation didn’t fully mirror the Pulp Fiction scene, it had a few parallels. Jackson’s line from the movie actually reads, “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 goodwill, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children.”
The actual scripture, however, 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.”
