Donald Trump's War Secretary Pete Hegseth quotes fake bible verse from Pulp Fiction

Oliver Partridge
Fri, 17 Apr 2026 10:32:42 +0000

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth mistakenly quoted Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction instead of the Bible during a military prayer at a Pentagon service on Wednesday.

The prayer, known as CSAR 25:17, takes its name from the biblical reference Ezekiel 25:17, and echoes the famous monologue delivered by Samuel L. Jackson's character before he shoots another man in the 1994 crime film.

Mr Hegseth recited the adapted prayer during a service at the Department of War, revealing it had been used by air rescue personnel during a recent combat mission to retrieve an American pilot from hostile territory.

The prayer was recited during the rescue operation for a US F-15E fighter jet pilot, who was shot down in Iran earlier this month.

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He told the assembly: "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."

He concluded with a vow of retribution against anyone attempting to capture the downed airman, invoking the call sign Sandy 1.

Videos of Mr Hegseth reading the prayer spread across social media on Thursday, with many mistakenly believing the War Secretary had made a blunder, intending to quote a genuine scripture.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell hit back at the mockery in a statement posted on X.

He wrote: "Secretary Hegseth on Wednesday shared a custom prayer, referenced as the CSAR prayer, used by the brave warfighters of Sandy-1 who led the daylight rescue mission of Dude 44 Alpha out of Iran, which was obviously inspired by dialogue in Pulp Fiction."

He dismissed suggestions Mr Hegseth had misquoted Ezekiel 25:17 as "fake news," insisting critics were "ignorant of reality".

The actual verse from 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."

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“There’s a passage I got memorised, seems appropriate for this situation: Ezekiel 25:17,” Samuel L Jackson said, before killing another character in the film.

The Secretary for War has attracted criticism for frequently incorporating Christian themes into his media briefings and for establishing monthly prayer services at the Pentagon.

Former White House strategist Steve Bannon weighed in, counselling the War Secretary to dial back religious references when discussing the Iran conflict.

He argued such elements draw attention away from the operational information being presented by military commanders.

The Bible passage was noted as a condemnation of Philistines and the Cherethites, historic enemies of the Israelites, dating to the fifth century BC.

The Old Testament book in which it appears, focuses on a demonstrative prophet of the name Ezekiel, who engages in street theater to attract the attention of crowds to deliver his message.

In Thursday's press briefing, Mr Hegseth likened the media to Pharisees, a New Testament-era group often in conflict with Jesus Christ and his teachings.