The United States Secretary Of War, Pete Hegseth, surprised the audience of a Pentagon worship service by reciting a Bible verse that was actually based on a speech from 1994 film Pulp Fiction.

During the service, the politician introduced a prayer that he claimed was commonplace in military circles, but especially on a particular air force mission. Referencing pilots with the call-sign ‘Sandy’, he said: “This prayer was recited by Sandy 1, to all Sandys, all those A‑10 crews, prior to all CSAR (Combat Search And Rescue) missions, but especially this CSAR mission that happened in real time,” he said, referring to combat search‑and‑rescue operations. “They call it CSAR 25:17, which I think is meant to reflect Ezekiel 25:17.”

He then invited those watching to pray with him as he said (per Newsweek): “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. Amen.”

The reading was livestreamed and has been shared across news services. The passage closely follows that of Jules Winfield, played by Samuel L Jackson, in Quentin Tarantino’s crime classic. In the movie, Winfield is a hitman who, from dramatic effect, recites a Bible passage he cites at Ezekiel 25:17 before killing someone. As such, it has been described as a violent interpretation of scripture.

The speech, which is fictional, is as follows: “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 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 you.” You can watch Jackson’s performance below.

The actual verse 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.”

This mistaken citation comes as US President Donald Trump came under fire for sharing an AI generated image that many interpreted as depicting him as Jesus Christ (he would later say his intention was to portray himself as a doctor). Singer Jack White drew attention to it, asking American Christians to question his intentions.

“Hey evangelical Christians?” he wrote on Instagram. “Remember that anti-Christ you been squawking about all these years and how he’d present himself as Christlike and bring about the end of days with a final war in the Middle East involving Jerusalem? Well…check out your boy now!”

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