We in today’s Western world tend to think individualistically and so imagine a relationship to God restricted to just him and me. The Lord, however, deals with his people corporately. Achan’s sin was the people’s sin (Joshua 7:1). So Nehemiah could never wash his hands from his ancestors’ sins nor from the sins of the people as a whole. Sin is a far more nefarious thing than simply an individual wronging God; it is a corruption of the whole heart that affects the way society functions in its entirety. It makes corporate responsibility so real for society’s ills.
6 Que ton oreille soit attentive et que tes yeux soient ouverts: écoute la prière que ton serviteur t'adresse en ce moment, jour et nuit, pour tes serviteurs les enfants d'Israël, en confessant les péchés des enfants d'Israël, nos péchés contre toi; car moi et la maison de mon père, nous avons péché.