Pete Hegseth – always ready to get medieval on someone’s ass – quoted a fake Bible verse Pulp Fiction During a prayer service at the Pentagon on Wednesday.
The Secretary of War cited an iconic, unscripted monologue from Quentin Tarantino’s beloved 1994 film. It’s the speech that creepy killer Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) gives to his victims just before he kills them.
Hegseth set up the quote by saying it was a prayer recited by Sandy 1 — one of the USAF combat search and rescue teams involved in the somewhat extraordinary rescue of a USAF pilot who was trapped behind enemy lines in Iran earlier this month.
“They call it CSAR 25:17, which I think is meant to mirror Ezekiel 25:17,” Hegseth told his audience (video below). It reads – and pray with me, please – “The path of the fallen pilot is surrounded on all sides by the injustice of selfish people and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who in the name of close friendship and duty shepherds the lost through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper and seeker of lost children. And I will strike down with great vengeance and fury those who attempt to seize my brother and destroy me. Brother, and you will know that my call sign is Sandy 1 when I lay my vengeance upon you, amen.
Ezekiel 25:17 actually reads, “And I will avenge them with great vengeance with severe rebukes; and they shall know that I am the Lord when I exact vengeance upon them.”
The adaptation was greatly expanded by Tarantino and Roger Avary Pulp Fictionwhere Jules famously says: “The path of the righteous man is surrounded on all sides by the injustice of the selfish and the tyranny of the wicked. Blessed is he who, in the name of love and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper and seeker of lost children. And with great vengeance and fierce fury I will strike down those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name, Lord, when I put my vengeance upon you.”
To be fair, the minister was clearly aware that the quote was not an accurate quote from the Bible word for word given the references to a downed pilot and “Sandy 1.” Perhaps the man, like Jules, thought it sounded like “something to say in cold blood” inspired by the Bible without realizing it was largely a creation of Hollywood. It’s a good thing the pilot was quickly rescued and not captured by the enemy, lest Hegseth end up reciting Christopher Walken’s Golden Hour speech.
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