diff --git a/changelog/41.changed.md b/changelog/41.changed.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e1fc1b7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog/41.changed.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+`Sweep` takes a `SweepSource` and nothing else. A sequence of points in the source position is now a `ValidationError` naming the two spellings that pick explicit values, `sweep(variable, qp.Values([...]))` and `sweep(variable).from_values([...])`, so the block always holds something that can answer its own length and kind and write itself back out to `.qp`. The combinators are unaffected, and so is the format's bracket literal, which still reads back as `Values`.
diff --git a/docs/guide/control-flow.md b/docs/guide/control-flow.md
index 85319ec..8341f01 100644
--- a/docs/guide/control-flow.md
+++ b/docs/guide/control-flow.md
@@ -53,9 +53,7 @@ than the `rotate` and `repeat` shortcuts below reach.
 
 An omitted source is detected with a sentinel rather than `None`, so
 `sweep(freq, None)`, a source that failed to be computed, is rejected instead of
-quietly returning a builder: `Sweep source must be a SweepSource or a 1-D
-sequence of values, got None`. A bare 1-D sequence in the source position is
-accepted as shorthand for `qp.Values`.
+quietly returning a builder: `Sweep source must be a SweepSource, got None`.
 
 A builder is not a context manager, because it has no values yet. Entering one
 raises `ValidationError` listing the `from_*` methods and the two-argument form,
diff --git a/docs/reference/errors.md b/docs/reference/errors.md
index 5330647..af01339 100644
--- a/docs/reference/errors.md
+++ b/docs/reference/errors.md
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ built the offending node.
 | `qprogram.fragments` | A fragment name that is malformed or reserved, a parameter colliding with a local variable, the wrong number of call arguments, an unknown or duplicated keyword, an unsupported argument type, a call cycle, and an expansion result that is not a bus or a waveform |
 | `qprogram.sweeps.builtin` | Non-numeric or non-finite bounds, `num < 1`, a zero step, a step pointing away from `stop`, non-positive `Logspace` bounds, and a `Values` or `File` array that is empty or not 1-D |
 | `qprogram.sweeps.combinators` | A `Repeat` count below 1, a non-integer `Rotate` offset, `Concat` given a single source or none, and any combinator argument that is a callable rather than a `SweepSource` |
-| `qprogram.blocks` | A `Sweep` source that is a callable or not a 1-D sequence, a `Parallel` with fewer than two loops or with mismatched iteration counts, `Average(shots)` below 1, and appending directly to a `Conditional` |
+| `qprogram.blocks` | A `Sweep` source that is not a `SweepSource`, a `Parallel` with fewer than two loops or with mismatched iteration counts, `Average(shots)` below 1, and appending directly to a `Conditional` |
 | `qprogram.operations.operation` | A `fields=` that is a bare string, not iterable, empty, or names a field no capability token registers |
 | `qprogram.waveforms.iq_pair` | An `IQPair` whose I and Q channels have different concrete durations |
 | `qprogram.result` | An empty `MeasurementHandle` name, and `QProgramResult.get(field=None)` |
diff --git a/src/qprogram/blocks/sweep.py b/src/qprogram/blocks/sweep.py
index 4d5c940..390c785 100644
--- a/src/qprogram/blocks/sweep.py
+++ b/src/qprogram/blocks/sweep.py
@@ -34,11 +34,10 @@ class Sweep(Block):
 
     Args:
         variable (Variable): The [`Variable`][qprogram.Variable] rebound on each iteration.
-        source (SweepSource): The [`SweepSource`][qprogram.SweepSource] describing the values. A bare
-            1-D sequence is accepted as a shorthand for [`Values`][qprogram.Values].
+        source (SweepSource): The [`SweepSource`][qprogram.SweepSource] describing the values.
 
     Raises:
-        ValidationError: If ``source`` is neither a source nor a sequence of values.
+        ValidationError: If ``source`` is not a [`SweepSource`][qprogram.SweepSource].
     """
 
     REPEATS: ClassVar[bool] = True
@@ -47,7 +46,7 @@ class Sweep(Block):
     def __init__(self, variable: Variable, source: SweepSource) -> None:
         super().__init__()
         self.variable = variable
-        self.source = _coerce_source(source)
+        self.source = _require_source(source)
 
     def num_iterations(self) -> int:
         """Return the number of sweep points, delegated to the source.
@@ -87,25 +86,22 @@ def required_capabilities(self) -> set[str]:
         return {"block.sweep"} | self.source.tokens()
 
 
-def _coerce_source(source: object) -> SweepSource:
-    """Return ``source`` as a [`SweepSource`][qprogram.SweepSource], wrapping a bare sequence.
+def _require_source(source: object) -> SweepSource:
+    """Return ``source`` unchanged, refusing anything that is not a [`SweepSource`][qprogram.SweepSource].
 
-    A sequence is the shorthand spelling of [`Values`][qprogram.Values]. A callable is refused
-    outright: a deferred function can report neither its length nor its kind before the program runs,
-    and cannot be serialized to ``.qp``.
+    The block holds a description of the values, never the values themselves: a source answers its
+    length and its kind before the program runs, and writes itself back out to ``.qp``. A callable
+    gets its own message, since it answers none of that at any point.
 
     Args:
-        source (object): A sweep source, or a 1-D sequence of values to wrap.
+        source (object): The value offered as the sweep's source.
 
     Returns:
-        The source unchanged, or a [`Values`][qprogram.Values] over the given points.
+        ``source``, once it is known to be a sweep source.
 
     Raises:
-        ValidationError: If ``source`` is a callable, or is not a 1-D sequence of values.
+        ValidationError: If ``source`` is not a [`SweepSource`][qprogram.SweepSource].
     """
-    # qprogram.sweeps imports this module, so the shorthand's import stays lazy.
-    from qprogram.sweeps.builtin import Values  # ruff: ignore[import-outside-top-level]
-
     if isinstance(source, SweepSource):
         return source
     if callable(source):
@@ -116,8 +112,5 @@ def _coerce_source(source: object) -> SweepSource:
             "SweepSource subclass with the parameters it needs."
         )
         raise ValidationError(msg)
-    try:
-        return Values(source)  # ty:ignore[invalid-argument-type]
-    except (ValidationError, TypeError, ValueError) as e:
-        msg = f"Sweep source must be a SweepSource or a 1-D sequence of values, got {source!r}"
-        raise ValidationError(msg) from e
+    msg = f"Sweep source must be a SweepSource, got {source!r}"
+    raise ValidationError(msg)
diff --git a/src/qprogram/qprogram.py b/src/qprogram/qprogram.py
index ff0687c..f97ae85 100644
--- a/src/qprogram/qprogram.py
+++ b/src/qprogram/qprogram.py
@@ -1311,8 +1311,7 @@ def sweep(self, variable: Variable, source: SweepSource | _Unset = _UNSET) -> _S
 
         Args:
             variable (Variable): The [`Variable`][qprogram.Variable] rebound each iteration.
-            source (SweepSource, optional): A [`SweepSource`][qprogram.SweepSource]. A bare 1-D
-                sequence is accepted as shorthand for [`Values`][qprogram.Values]. Omit it to
+            source (SweepSource, optional): A [`SweepSource`][qprogram.SweepSource]. Omit it to
                 get a `_SweepBuilder` and pick the values with a ``from_*`` method instead.
 
         Returns:
@@ -1320,8 +1319,7 @@ def sweep(self, variable: Variable, source: SweepSource | _Unset = _UNSET) -> _S
             `_SweepBuilder` that produces one.
 
         Raises:
-            ValidationError: If ``source`` is given but is neither a sweep source nor a 1-D sequence
-                of values.
+            ValidationError: If ``source`` is given but is not a sweep source.
         """
         if isinstance(source, _Unset):
             return _SweepBuilder(self, variable)
diff --git a/tests/test_blocks.py b/tests/test_blocks.py
index 1f2a813..622c697 100644
--- a/tests/test_blocks.py
+++ b/tests/test_blocks.py
@@ -191,10 +191,11 @@ def test_sweep_repeats():
     assert Sweep.REPEATS is True
 
 
-def test_sweep_accepts_a_bare_sequence_as_values_shorthand():
-    sw = Sweep(Variable("x"), [0.1, 0.2, 0.3])
-    assert isinstance(sw.source, Values)
-    assert sw.num_iterations() == 3
+def test_sweep_rejects_a_sequence_of_points():
+    """The block binds a source, not the points a source would produce."""
+    v = Variable("x")
+    with pytest.raises(ValidationError, match="must be a SweepSource"):
+        Sweep(v, [0.1, 0.2, 0.3])  # ty:ignore[invalid-argument-type]
 
 
 def test_sweep_rejects_a_callable_source():
@@ -204,9 +205,9 @@ def test_sweep_rejects_a_callable_source():
         Sweep(v, lambda i: i)  # ty:ignore[invalid-argument-type]
 
 
-def test_sweep_rejects_a_non_source_non_sequence():
+def test_sweep_rejects_a_non_source():
     v = Variable("x")
-    with pytest.raises(ValidationError, match="SweepSource or a 1-D sequence"):
+    with pytest.raises(ValidationError, match="must be a SweepSource"):
         Sweep(v, object())  # ty:ignore[invalid-argument-type]