Fact Check: Did Pete Hegseth quote fake Bible verse from Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Pulp Fiction’?

WASHINGTON, DC: After delivering a prayer at the Pentagon worship service amid geopolitical tensions with Iran, a rumor began circulating on social media that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth had accidentally recited a fictionalised Bible verse from the classic film ‘Pulp Fiction.’ Let us analyse Hegseth’s exact words and fact-check the viral claim.

Claim: Pete Hegseth quotes fake Bible verse from 'Pulp Fiction'

A clip began circulating on social media platforms claiming to show Hegseth quoting a fictionalised Bible verse from a movie during a Pentagon worship service. 

Posts on platforms like X, Facebook, and TikTok alleged that Hegseth's prayer came from the 1994 crime drama directed by Quentin Tarantino, in which the character Jules Winnfield, played by actor Samuel L. Jackson, cited a fictionalized version of Ezekiel 25:17.

Some posts were accompanied by a side-by-side of Hegseth's speech and the associated dialogue from "Pulp Fiction." 

Fact Check: Hegseth did not introduce the prayer as an authentic Bible verse

Hegseth’s video is real, as confirmed by the Department of Defense, and his prayer during an April 15 service at the Pentagon closely resembled the fictionalized Bible verse that Winnfield recites in a scene from the iconic film.

But Hegseth did not introduce the prayer as a real Bible verse.

In an April 16 statement on X, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the prayer was "obviously inspired by dialogue in Pulp Fiction." 

"However, both the CSAR prayer and the dialogue in Pulp Fiction were reflections of the verse Ezekiel 25:17, as Secretary Hegseth clearly said in his remarks at the prayer service," Parnell wrote.

"Anyone saying the Secretary misquoted Ezekiel 25:17 is peddling fake news and ignorant of reality." 

Pete Hegseth recites the Combat Search and Rescue prayer

Hegseth, in his prayer, went on to say, “So this prayer was recited by Sandy One, which is one of the Sandies, to all Sandies, all those A-10 crews prior to all CSAR missions, but especially this CSAR mission that happened in real time.”

“They call it CSAR 25:17, which I think is meant to reflect Ezekiel 25:17. 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.” 

“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.”