Ezekiel 25:17: The Pulp Fiction Scene That Turned Samuel L. Jackson Into a Legend

In the apartment scene from Pulp Fiction, which would define his career, Samuel L. Jackson delivers his now-famous threat with calculated menace. The character, Jules Winnfield, moves from casual conversation about burgers to cold interrogation, building tension with each word.

When he finally launches into the Ezekiel 25:17 monologue (a fabricated biblical passage delivered with unwavering conviction) the scene reaches its climactic moment.

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The sequence became one of cinema's most quoted and parodied moments.

Jackson’s performance turns a pulpy, invented scripture into gospel, blending menace and charisma in a way Hollywood hadn’t seen before. Overnight, Jackson went from “that guy in that thing” to “the guy you never forget.”

The Scene That Changed Everything

The beauty of the apartment scene is in the slow, sinister build. Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) and Vincent (John Travolta) roll in with casual confidence, bantering about Big Kahuna burgers and about what the French call a quarter-pound cheese.

At first, it’s almost funny. Then Jules starts interrogating Brett (Frank Whaley) as if it were a court trial. The tension coils tighter with every bite he takes. By the time he asks, “Does Marcellus Wallace look like a bitch?” we’ve crossed into psychological warfare.

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The monologue is pretty much the climax of the scene. Delivered with icy calm, then furious eruption, “Ezekiel 25:17” is a sentence wrapped like a judgment. And Brett’s already guilty.

Tarantino’s direction frames the chaos with unsettling steadiness. The long take traps us in the room. The infamous trunk shot earlier plants us in the criminals' POV. We’re forced to sit with the victims.

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The humor in the early dialogue makes the violence hit harder. There’s no soundtrack, just Jackson’s voice echoing through the silence like a preacher at the end of days.

The Origins of Ezekiel 25:17

Let’s set the record straight: Ezekiel 25:17, as quoted by Jules, is not in the Bible, at least not in that form.

The real verse is a lot shorter and nowhere near as cinematic. Tarantino lifted most of it from the 1973 Japanese flick Karate Kiba, which featured a similar line spoken by Sonny Chiba’s character. Quentin tweaked it.

What makes it land is more than just badass delivery. Thematically, it mirrors Jules’ own character arc. At first, he’s just a hitman quoting a scary-sounding line before pulling the trigger. But by the end of the scene, after surviving a miraculous gunfight, Jules starts believing in that verse—or at least in the idea of it.

“I’m trying real hard to be the shepherd,” he says later. It’s not just talk anymore.

Samuel L. Jackson—The Man Behind the Myth

Before Pulp Fiction, Samuel L. Jackson was everywhere and nowhere at once. He was the guy holding a small part in Coming to America or Goodfellas, but nothing stuck. He battled substance abuse for years and finally got clean just before his breakout in Jungle Fever, playing a person with an addiction (ironically, right after rehab). That role got him attention, but Pulp Fiction is what gave him immortality.

Here’s the kicker: Jackson almost lost the role. During auditions, Paul Calderon impressed Tarantino so much that he nearly got the part. Jackson flew to L.A., reauditioned, and this time brought the thunder.

The Performance of a Lifetime

Jackson paces his words like a sermon, drawing you in before snapping the trap shut.

The tone flip from calm charm to righteous fury is surgical, not random. His voice rises, but instead of sounding like a yell, it sounds like a warning siren. And by the time he thunders, “And you will know my name is the Lord…” it feels like real wrath.

The look helped, too. The Jheri curl was a total accident. Jackson wore it to the audition and never looked back. And that iconic black suit—sure, it was straight from Tarantino’s vision of cool—but it was Jackson’s cold, unblinking stare that sold it.

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The Making of a Legend

Despite turning in a performance that practically burned through the screen, Jackson didn’t win the Oscar. The trophy went to Martin Landau for Ed Wood, and Jackson’s reaction was classic: “Shit!”

Hard to argue. He didn’t get the statue, but he got something better—global recognition and a career that never slowed down.

Jules could’ve boxed Jackson as a one-note tough guy. Instead, Jackson flipped it; he used that success to expand his range. He played Jedi (Star Wars), superheroes (Nick Fury), villains, and more Jules-adjacent badasses, even a self-serving and manipulative character in Django Unchained.

Not once did he come off as typecast. A trait of an intelligent actor: knowing how to ride the wave without drowning in it.

The scene made its way into pop culture like ink in water. It’s been parodied in The Boondocks, The Simpsons, Mad TV. Even Captain America: The Winter Soldier nods to it when Nick Fury fakes his death. And who could forget the wallet? “Bad Motherfucker” became a product line overnight.

Jackson still quotes the line on command. Thirty years later, he owns it as much as Tarantino wrote it. He has said in interviews that people still ask him to recite Ezekiel 25:17 at airports, restaurants, and funerals (seriously), and he delivers. How can he run from the moment when he is the moment?

Trivia and Fun Facts

The way Jackson chewed the Big Kahuna burger—not a prop, by the way—was improvised. It somehow made the moment scarier.

And that red Chevy Malibu Vincent drives? It was Tarantino’s car. It was stolen after filming and vanished for nearly two decades. Police later found it during a bust.

Early casting ideas were wild. Tarantino reportedly had Laurence Fishburne and Michael Madsen as first choices for Jules and Vincent, respectively. Greats like Denzel Washington, Eddie Murphy, Gary Oldman, and Alec Baldwin were also in contention. But to be honest, it’s hard to imagine that alternate universe.