Where can I find books of the New Testament written in standard, modern-day English?

Dear knickboss,

The easiest source to obtain a New Testament in contemporary English
would be Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com). They offer the following
editions:

New Testament in Modern English, by J.B.Phillips
Paperback, 575 pages
Publisher: Touchstone Books, 1996
ISBN: 068482633X
$10.40 (List price: $13.00)
Excerpts available.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/068482633X/qid=1035313903/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-9892907-3638558?v=glance

New Testament in Modern English - Revised Student Edition, by
J.B.Phillips
Paperback, 558 pages
Publisher: Touchstone Books, 1996
ISBN: 0684826380
$8.80 (List price: $11.00)
Excerpts available.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0684826380/qid=1035313903/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/102-9892907-3638558?v=glance#product-details

The Message: The New Testament in Contemporary Language, by Eugene H.
Peterson
Paperback
Publisher: Navpress, 1994
ISBN: 0891097937
$10.50 (List price: $15.00)
Excerpts available.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0891097937/qid=1035314596/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/102-9892907-3638558?v=glance

The Message: New Testament With Psalms and Proverbs in Contemporary
Language, by Eugene H. Peterson
Hardcover, 816 pages
Publisher: Navpress, 1998
ISBN: 1576831191
$16.09 (List price: $22.99)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1576831191/qid=1035314853/sr=1-5/ref=sr_1_5/102-9892907-3638558?v=glance

The Message: New Testament With Psalms and Proverbs in Contemporary
Language, by Eugene H. Peterson
Leather bound, 528 pages
Publisher: Navpress, 1997
ISBN: 1576830225
$15.40 (List price: $22.00)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1576830225/qid=1035314853/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_4/102-9892907-3638558?v=glance

Using the ISBN numbers, these books should also be available by
request from most bookstores without any problems.

Additionally, you might want to have a look at the Contemporary
English New Testament, published and offered in numerous variants by
the American Bible Society (http://www.bibles.com) via their own
online shop:
http://www.bibles.com/product_list.asp?CatalogName=ABS%5FNEW&CategoryName=Newt%5FCEV&crumb=NewTestaments%7CNewt%5FCEV%7C&Page=1

Search terms used:
"new testament" "modern english":
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&q=%22new+testament%22+%22modern+english%22&meta=
"new testament" "contemporary english":
://www.google.com/search?q=%22new+testament%22+%22contemporary+english%22&hl=de&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&sa=n&oq=%22new+testament%22+%22contaporary+english%22

Hope this helps!
Regards,
Scriptor

knickboss,

You can also access the Bible, in any one of a dozen translations,
online at http://www.biblegateway.com/cgi-bin/bible . On this page,
you can look up specific verses by version/book/chapter/verse#, by
inputting keyword(s) to find relevant passages, or by choosing a
version under "List the Books of the Bible", then going to the next
page where you can choose book/chapter/verse to start reading.

The virtue of this is that you can access the Bible anytime and
anywhere you have access to the Internet.

To help you decide which version you would prefer to read, choose each
translation one by one, and read Genesis 1:1 (or any other specific
verse you wish to select) for that version. This will give you an idea
of how ancient or modern, formal or informal, is the style of the
text. You can also do this to decide which hardcopy version of the
Bible you would like to purchase.

I hope this information is of assistance to you!

Here is the info for an EXTREMELY easy to read version of both the new
and old testament:
New Believer's Bible
By Greg Laurie
Tyndale Publishing
ISBN 0-8423-4571-X
Price $17.00
Can be found at 
http://www.harvest.org/store/books/index.htm or most Christian
bookstores.  I have even on occasion spotted it at other on-line
sites.

Other sites providing same book at lower cost:
http://www.calvaryccvstore.com/calvarychapelchino/html/bibles.html -
Just the new testament for $3.72
http://trustworthybooks.com/newbelbib.html    - selling it for $14.10