This verse and 9 describe in more detail how the Thessalonians’ example has influenced Christians in other areas.
The word translated go out is uncommon. It combines the metaphor of a gong, trumpet, or similar instruments with the idea of moving outwards: “a sound is made and it is used spreading out from a center over an area” (Best). New English Bible has “rang out”; Barclay “has sounded out”; Knox “has echoed out.”
The phrase “the word of the Lord” (Jerusalem Bible New English Bible and most older translations) does not make it clear that in this context Paul is not thinking of a word which came from the Lord, but rather of a word or message about the Lord Jesus Christ. The message about the Lord indicates this fact more clearly. The sense is thus quite different from that of places in the Old Testament where “the word of the Lord” is used to introduce prophetic oracles.
From you in Greek comes at the beginning of the verse and is thus emphatic.
In some languages it is difficult (perhaps even impossible) to speak about a message “going out from” a person, because messages do not literally move. But a report about a message may be heard by more, and yet more, persons. Therefore the first clause of this verse may be recast as “more and more people, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, heard the message about the Lord because of what you have done,” “… because of what you are doing,” or “… because of how you live.” As in the previous verses, the emphasis here is upon the behavior of the Thessalonians, and therefore the extent to which the message about the Good News spread as the result of their example.
But the news about your faith in God may be treated in a similar manner. One may need to indicate, not only the places, but the persons who heard the news about the faith of the Thessalonians, for example, “but people everywhere have been hearing the news about how you have trusted in God.”
Everywhere (literally, “in every place”) is, of course, an exaggeration. “Everywhere we have been since we visited you” is surely implied though it should not be specified in translation. In this passage Paul is approaching a climax in which, as in poetry, the emotive meaning is as important as the information he gives. This is not to say that the referential meaning is unimportant; indeed, some commentators see in verse 9b-10 a summary of the first Christian preaching.
There is nothing, then, that we need to say. Many translations (including Barclay Bible de Jérusalem Bible en français courant Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch Phillips La Sainte Bible: Nouvelle version Segond révisée Le Nouveau Testament. Version Synodale) add “about it” (that is, “about your faith”), and Best adds “about you” in brackets. This meaning is quite possible, and it is strongly suggested by the corresponding positive statement in verse 9. It would certainly be reading too much into the verse to emphasize a more general reference such as “there is nothing left for us to preach about.” However, the word translated “say” normally refers to the act of speaking, rather than to the content of what is said. Good News Translation‘s translations is therefore preferable, unless the receptor language requires that the content of to say be specified. One way of rendering this sentence is “We do not have to say anything, for people have already heard.” In this way the content of what would be said is linked closely with what has already been indicated, namely, the message about the Lord which has already gone out because of the outstanding example of the Thessalonians. Note also how this closing sentence of verse 8 is closely linked with the beginning of verse 9.
Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1976. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .