Watch: Did Pete Hegseth confuse Pulp Fiction with the Bible?
US administration insists Secretary of Defence was reciting a combat prayer inspired by cult classic
Donald Trump’s administration has insisted Pete Hegseth did not confuse a Samuel L. Jackson monologue from Pulp Fiction with a real Bible verse.
Hegseth, the US Secretary of Defense, was roasted by pundits and commentators after he gave a speech at the Pentagon in which he read out a “prayer” he said was recited by combat search and rescue teams.
"They call it CSAR 25:17, which I think is meant to reflect Ezekiel 25:17," Hegseth said before reading the prayer aloud.
He then proceeded to read out an almost word-for-word copy of lines recited in Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 cult classic Pulp Fiction.
In the film, Samuel L. Jackson’s character Jules Winnfield recites a dramatised version of Ezekiel 25:17 before executing a man.
The King James Bible version of Ezekiel 25:17 describes God’s anger towards the Philistines and condemnation of the Philistines and the Cherethite and 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."
The Pulp Fiction version adds in sections, including an iconic one in which Jackson’s character says “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 you."
Hegseth recited a version that largely mirrored the film’s, save for a handful of words. The recital swiftly drew mockery on social media and talk shows.
But a Pentagon spokesperson insisted Hegseth had not misquoted the Bible verse.
“Anyone saying the Secretary misquoted Ezekiel 25:17 is peddling fake news and ignorant of reality,” spokesman Sean Parnell said on X while acknowledging that the CSAR prayer Hegseth read out “was obviously inspired by dialogue in Pulp Fiction.”
Hegseth has spoken publicly about his membership in the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC), a Christian nationalist conservative group, and has made piety a key cornerstone of his public image while reframing his job title as 'Secretary of War'.
He has framed the US war in Iran as one that is blessed, saying God is on the side of the US military and included phrases in defence of military violence in prayers.
In a March worship service shortly after the US bombed Iran, he prayed for “overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy”.
The incident caps a challenging week for the Trump administration’s relationship with Christianity.
US President Donald Trump has lashed out at Pope Leo for criticising the war in Iran and posted an image of himself as a Christ-like figure putting his hand on the forehead of a man lying in a hospital bed.
The president subsequently deleted that image, claiming he thought it depicted him as a doctor “making people better.”