chin.nam marks an action or outcome as lacking payment, justification, or effective purpose.

The adverb most often qualifies hostile, harmful, or accusatory actions as lacking a stated basis; it also describes release, labor, food, sale, and offerings in relation to payment or cost, and in a smaller group of clauses marks an act as futile or unproductive.

1. Without justification or grounds · dominant

   The adverb qualifies violence, pursuit, hatred, and accusation where the verse denies a basis for the action. In Psalm 35:7 the APB renders both the hidden net and the search for the speaker's life as done "without cause"; in 1 Samuel 19:5 it similarly describes putting David to death, and in Job 2:3 it describes the proposed destruction of Job.

   Psalm 35:71 Samuel 19:51 Kings 2:31Job 2:3Proverbs 3:30Psalm 109:3
2. Without payment or cost · common

   The adverb occurs in clauses about compensation, price, and release. In Exodus 21:2 the APB renders the servant's departure as "without payment," while Genesis 29:15 contrasts Jacob's service "for nothing" with receiving wages; 2 Samuel 24:24 places the term with David's refusal to offer a burnt offering "without cost."

   Exodus 21:2Exodus 21:11Genesis 29:152 Samuel 24:24Numbers 11:5Jeremiah 22:13
3. To no effect or purpose · occasional

   In a smaller set of statements, the adverb marks speech or action as not empty or productive. In Ezekiel 6:10 the APB renders the Lord's statement as not spoken "for nothing," and in Malachi 1:10 it renders the kindling of the altar "in vain"; Proverbs 1:17 applies the same idea to a net spread in a bird's sight.

   Ezekiel 6:10Malachi 1:10Proverbs 1:17

In the Anselm Project Bible: Across these verses, the APB uses "without cause" for unsupported hostility, "without payment" or "without cost" for unpaid or unpriced matters, and "for nothing" or "in vain" for futile acts. These renderings reflect the clauses rather than a fixed English equivalent.