Colin Jost’s – Colin Jost says he pitched a Pulp Fiction-style Bible verse gag for SNL cold opens—then claimed Pete Hegseth performed the same exact moment soon after at a Pentagon event, prompting a viral wave and a Pentagon spokesperson’s defense of the reference.
Colin Jost didn’t plan on becoming the origin story of a Pentagon prayer moment.. On The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. the Saturday Night Live star recalled pitching a cold-open idea that centered on Secretary of War Pete Hegseth doing a Bible verse famously turned into pop-culture dialogue in Pulp Fiction.
Jost, 43, told Fallon on Thursday, May 14, that it happened in the writers room about “two months ago.” He described the pitch plainly: “Would it be funny if Hegseth just did that bible verse that they have in Pulp Fiction.”
He even acknowledged the writers nearly talked themselves out of it. Jost said they “talked about it” and built the fictional scenario into the cold open, but figured it might be “too ridiculous.” Then real life caught up, fast.
“ And then, he for-real did it … like two weeks later!” Jost said. “And I was like, ‘Well, the good news is, I’m being surveilled.’ So, that’s a relief.’”
The viral spark came from Hegseth’s appearance last month at a “Faith in Military” event at the Pentagon. There, he recited a version of the verse popularized by Quentin Tarantino’s film—tied to Ezekiel 25:17 through the movie’s fictional retelling.
Hegseth, 45, began by saying, “They call it CSAR 25:17, which I think is meant to reflect Ezekiel 25:17.” He then delivered the longer, Pulp Fiction-linked wording, including: “The path of the downed aviator is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men.”
He continued the speech with the same theatrical cadence—“Blessed is he who in the name of camaraderie and duty shepherds the lost through the valley of darkness”—before concluding with vengeance-themed lines and a call sign: “And you will know my call sign is Sandy 1 when I lay my vengeance upon thee.. Amen.”
The reason the moment exploded online was that many viewers recognized it as the same fictional Bible-versification Quentin Tarantino put in the mouth of Samuel L. Jackson’s character Jules. In Pulp Fiction, Jules recites the verse before he and Vincent Vega (John Travolta) carry out a shady job.
“The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. ” Jackson says in the film. adding the charitable framing—“Blessed is he who. in the name of charity and goodwill. shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness”—and finishing with: “And you will know my name is the Lord. when I lay my vengeance upon thee.”
Not everyone was satisfied with the framing, though. A shorter, real-world version of Ezekiel 25:17 exists, reading: “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.”
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell later pushed back on claims that Hegseth had misquoted the scripture. Writing via X, Parnell insisted the reference was intentional.
“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. ” Parnell wrote.. “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.. Anyone saying the Secretary misquoted Ezekiel 25:17 is peddling fake news and ignorant of reality.”
In the end, what started as a SNL writers room pitch became a real-world spotlight—part scripture reference, part pop-culture echo, and part timing so striking Jost joked he must be “being surveilled.”
Colin Jost Pete Hegseth SNL The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Pulp Fiction Ezekiel 25:17 CSAR 25:17 Pentagon viral Sean Parnell