Nettles are a weed that grows spontaneously on untended land (Proverbs 24:31). It should be noted that the Hebrew word has been variously translated. Motyer lists thistles, chickling, chickpea, and nettles
as possibilities but says that Job 30:7 makes nettles
somewhat unlikely.1 An authoritative lexicon calls it a tall wild artichoke.
2
9 Therefore, as I live,” declares the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “Moab shall become like Sodom, and the Ammonites like Gomorrah, a land possessed by nettles and salt pits, and a waste forever. The remnant of my people shall plunder them, and the survivors of my nation shall possess them.”