US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth called out for quoting Pulp Fiction version of fake bible verse

Pete Hegseth has been brutally humbled for unknowingly quoting a fake Bible verse that was made famous by Pulp Fiction.

The embarrassing blunder occurred on Wednesday (15 Apr), while the Defense Secretary delivered a sermon during a worship service at the Pentagon.

At one point, Hegseth prepared to read a prayer he claimed to have been handed by the 'lead mission planner' responsible for rescuing two US Air Force crew members who were recently shot down over Iran.

The prayer, spectators quickly realised, was an adapted version of a fictionalised biblical verse recounted by actor Samuel L Jackson in Quentin Tarantino's 1994 cult classic.

Now, any long-time fan of the gritty crime-drama will already know the reference I'm talking about.

Samuel L Jackson delivered the fictionalised quote in Pulp Fiction (Miramax)

It occurs during a scene in which Jackson's character, a gangster named Jules Winnfield, prepares to take out a target for failing to cough up the cash owed to his boss.

'The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men...' the quote begins, and so on.

Jackson's verse wasn't entirely falsified - it was a heavily modified combination of Ezekiel 25:17, combining biblical threats with phrasing inspired by the 1970s film Bodyguard Kiba, hence the comedic value of the scene.

Hegseth's prayer, meanwhile, was an even more heavily altered version of that.

"The path of the downed aviator is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men," he began. "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."

Hegseth delivered his 'prayer' at the Pentagon (SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images)

Worlds away from a verified piece of Biblical literature, the peculiar prayer quickly garnered amusement online.

One X user laughed: "Samuel L. Jackson wrote better scripture than Pete Hegseth could find and the Pentagon said amen. The congregation deserved better."

Another teased: "So… Ezekiel or Tarantino, who gets the credit here?"

"Did bro just watch Pulp Fiction?" asked a third.

Thankfully for Hegseth, however, a number of right-leaning voters rushed to his defence, one of whom hit out: "I don’t like the guy, but he said it is a prayer, not a verse. Don’t be a moron, clash report."

Another insisted: "It's a real verse. Just rewritten for the movie and embellished a little. Think of it like just another one of the many translations of the bible."