Pete Hegseth quotes Quentin Tarantino like a real Bible prophet at Pentagon church service: ‘Directly from the movie’

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth quoted a doctored Bible passage made famous in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction during a Pentagon worship service, drawing ridicule online and renewed scrutiny over his role in leading religious events inside the Department of Defense.

According to reporting by Word&Way, Hegseth delivered the remarks on Wednesday during a Pentagon church service, where he recited language closely resembling the fictionalized version of Ezekiel 25:17 popularized by Samuel L. Jackson’s character Jules Winnfield in the 1994 film.

The speech, framed as part of a military-themed prayer, echoed the famous “great vengeance and furious anger” monologue from Pulp Fiction, a passage widely mistaken for scripture despite being largely written for the movie rather than taken directly from the Bible. The actual biblical verse in Ezekiel is significantly shorter and does not include most of the film’s dramatic wording, written by Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary.

Hegseth reportedly presented the prayer, adapted from a military rescue-mission anecdote, modifying the language to fit a Pentagon and combat context while delivering it during the religious gathering. The unusual moment quickly spread online, with critics mocking the defense secretary for quoting what many recognized as movie dialogue in a worship setting.

One Reddit comment noted in part, “Bro, there’s no way his speech writer isn’t memeing on him. This is directly from the movie.”

Hegseth and religion at the Pentagon

But for many commenters, the bigger controversy was not the Pulp Fiction reference itself — it was the fact that Hegseth was leading church services inside the Pentagon at all.

“He’s been holding regular church services in the f—king Pentagon…” one Reddit commenter wrote in a thread discussing the incident. Another added: “I feel like quoting a movie is kinda burying the lede here when the Secretary of Defense is leading worship services in the Pentagon. What the f—k.”

Hegseth has reportedly been holding regular Christian worship services at the Pentagon for months, a practice that has generated criticism from church-state separation advocates and some military personnel who argue the events blur the line between personal faith and official government business.

Hegseth’s Department of Defense planned an Easter observance limited to Protestant Christians, with critics noting there was no equivalent Catholic Easter service offered at the Pentagon.

Trump’s beef with Pope Leo XIV

That detail comes amid continuing tensions between the Trump administration and Pope Leo XIV, whose disagreements with administration officials have fueled broader friction between the White House and parts of the Catholic hierarchy. While no formal explanation was provided for the absence of a Catholic service, critics cited the disparity as evidence of what they described as sectarian favoritism in Pentagon religious programming.

Hegseth, a longtime conservative media personality before becoming defense secretary, has increasingly incorporated overt religious rhetoric into his public role. His recent Pentagon worship appearances and militarized prayers have become a recurring source of controversy as he blends evangelical language with defense policy messaging.

The Pentagon has not publicly commented on the backlash surrounding Wednesday’s service. Still, the viral reaction suggests critics see the incident as about more than a misquoted Bible verse. For them, the real issue is that one of the nation’s top military officials is leading explicitly sectarian worship services inside the Pentagon, and doing so while quoting dialogue “directly from the movie.”