President Donald Trump's "attack" on Pope Leo XIV for being "too liberal" has brought out the biblical scholars like Tucker Carlson, Joy Behar, and Whoopi Goldberg, whose Sunday School lesson we'll get to in a bit.
Variety is now stepping forward and accusing Secretary of War Pete Hegseth of mistaking a monologue from "Pulp Fiction" for a passage from Ezekiel.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth tried to evoke Holy Scripture but instead quoted Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" during a Pentagon worship service.
— Variety (@Variety) April 16, 2026
Hagseth read the altered version of Ezekiel 25:17 quoted by Samuel L. Jackson’s character in the movie just before he shoots a…
"… man to death."
Nice try, but no. Hegseth wasn't trying to evoke Holy Scripture. He never said he was quoting the Bible. He said that his reading was the shared prayer of Combat Search and Rescue Lead Mission Planner Sandy 1. Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell shared the transcript.
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. However, both the CSAR prayer… https://t.co/KMRNQ9MBcc
— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellASW) April 16, 2026
The post continues:
… 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. Anyone saying the Secretary misquoted Ezekiel 25:17 is peddling fake news and ignorant of reality.
FULL TRANSCRIPT:
— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellASW) April 16, 2026
HEGSETH: Which leads me finally to a prayer that I'll read, which was also handed to me a couple of days ago, delivered from the lead mission planner of Sandy-1. Sandy-1 were the A-10s that were a part of the daylight rescue mission of 44 Alpha - Dude 44 Alpha…
The post continues:
… out of Iran. And if you know anything about Sandies, their job is to bring those A-10s and put them in between the enemy and that down pilot. And so their job is to literally sacrifice themselves for someone else, and in Iran and contested territory, that's exactly what they did. So it's this prayer was recited by Sandy-1, 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 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-1 when I lay my vengeance upon thee, and Amen."
Here's the video:
The press is intent to claim Sec. Hegseth said a Samuel L. Jackson quote was a Bible verse.
— Brad Slager: CNN+ Lifetime Subscriber (@MartiniShark) April 16, 2026
Because I prefer to light a candle, rather than curse their darkness, here is the video of Pete Hegseth as he repeatedly states he is reading a prayer spoken during military missions. pic.twitter.com/etHxrVVB0D
It's pretty obvious that "and you will know my call sign is Sandy-1 when I lay my vengeance upon thee" isn't a quote from the Bible.
This is what happens when a Hollywood rag tries to lecture others on the Scriptures when they normally hold the holy works in disdain.
— Brad Slager: CNN+ Lifetime Subscriber (@MartiniShark) April 16, 2026
Actually listening to Hegseth’s words was apparently too difficult for them to engage in.
Context is everything.
— John King (@JohnKing679352) April 16, 2026
It's amazing what it takes to get somebody from Variety to read a Bible verse...but Hegseth made it happen! 🤣
— Not the Bee (@Not_the_Bee) April 16, 2026
As we said, we're hearing from biblical scholars this week who we've never heard discuss religion before, at least not in a positive light.
I'm surprised you're even familiar with Bible verses.
— Joey Meugniot (@realjoeymUS) April 16, 2026
Of course, all of the usual dupes are falling for the fake narrative.
Should have done Walken’s watch story. https://t.co/4Bopd0IuGF
— Michael McKean (@MJMcKean) April 16, 2026
***