ezekiel pulp fiction
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Jules: You read the Bible?
Ringo: Not regularly.
Jules: There's a passage I got memorized. Ezekiel 25:17. "The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of the 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 poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know I am the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you." I been sayin' that shit for years. And if you ever heard it, it meant your ass. I never really questioned what it meant. I thought it was just a cold-blooded thing to say to a motherfucker before you popped a cap in his ass. But I saw some shit this mornin' made me think twice. Now I'm thinkin': it could mean you're the evil man. And I'm the righteous man. And Mr. .45 here, he's the shepherd protecting my righteous ass in the valley of darkness. Or it could be you're the righteous man and I'm the shepherd and it's the world that's evil and selfish. I'd like that. But that shit ain't the truth. The truth is you're the weak. And I'm the tyranny of evil men. But I'm tryin, Ringo. I'm tryin' real hard to be the shepherd.
script
Jules' speech from Ezekiel 25:17:
'The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides with the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who in the name of charity and good will shepherds the weak 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 those with great vengeance and with furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know that my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.'
This is actually not directly from Ezekiel 25:17 and in fact, only the last sentence and part of the second last sentence will be found there.
Marsellus' soul. This theory is used more than any other, considering the visuals and plot line. Marsellus wears a bandage in the back of his head, perhaps to cover an incision which The Devil made to take the soul. Jules and Vincent experience "Divine Intervention" in getting the briefcase, and Jules' Ezekiel 25:17 speech talks about evil and all that other biblical stuff.
Pulp Fiction
(with Kool & The Gang, Al Green, Dusty Springfield, Chuck Berry, Urge Overkill)
Includes: Son Of A Preacher Man, Never Can Tell, Girl You'll Be A Woman Soon, Lonesome Town. Let's Stay Together, Jungle Boogie, Ezekiel 25:17
22.Ezekiel 25-17 - Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction)[dialogue]
4. The two times Jules quotes Ezekiel 25:17, he quotes it slightly differently.
5. Jules must have been reading one weird Bible, because the verse he quotes isn't like any version in print.
misquote
Jules' speech from Ezekiel 25:17:
'The path of the righteous man 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 charity and good will, shepherds the weak 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 poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you.'
This is actually not directly from Ezekiel 25:17 and in fact, only the last sentence and part of the second last sentence will be found there.
The version of Ezekiel 25:17 was actually a mixture of Ezekiel 25:17 and bits from 23rd Psalm.
Psalm 23
1 A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever (NKJV).
morality
In Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, Tarantino gives the audience so much more including richly-layered themes such as loyalty, redemption and morality. Take note of a scene in Reservoir Dogs when Mr. Orange shoots an innocent woman – he has become what he once abhorred. Another example is the moment in Pulp Fiction when Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) discovers the true meaning of his oft-quoted Ezekiel passage.
moral message
if one looks beyond the multiple killings and gore, there lies a powerful moral message behind both Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs. Both films exhibit a strong belief in a code of honour - honour amongst thieves perhaps, but important nonetheless. Reservoir Dogs is much less a film about a failed jewellery heist than a study of relationships and moral dilemma, mistrust and paranoia. The entire film builds up to the point at the end when Orange finally reveals to White that he is a cop, after White has given up his own life out of trust for him.
Pulp Fiction takes this theme forward into redemption and conversion. When Jules, played by Samuel L Jackson, experiences a miracle, he undergoes a transformation by which the film culminates with him paying the price to save another man's life. The melodramatic quote from Ezekiel with which he accompanied his executions, with little other reason than it sounded cool, suddenly took a twist, as he became the shepherd instead of the vengeance. On the other hand, Vincent, his partner, who did not believe in the miracle, putting it down to mere coincidence, consequently finds himself, through another series of coincidences, at the wrong end of another shooting - this time fatal. He learnt neither from his previous mistakes (this was his 3rd time in the bathroom as something major happened), nor the enlightenment of others, and finally paid for it with his life.
The other common theme is that of forgiveness.
